


Digidreams Do Come True!

by Relaxing_Pikachu



Category: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Adventure/Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Adventure, Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-24 06:21:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9707558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Relaxing_Pikachu/pseuds/Relaxing_Pikachu
Summary: This takes place two years after 02 and all of the children are taken back to the Digital World against their will in strange ways and when they get there, it's even stranger. The question is why.





	1. Last Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mimi thinks back to her last Adventure in the Digital World and if the last time she saw Palmon and the other Digimon...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all. This another rewrite. This story is originally from 2001 and was based on a dream I had. It's an alternate ending to 02 before it originally aired in Japan.
> 
> Due to this being based on a dream, there will be some differences between how the Adventure 02 series was and how this story is. For instance, in this story's continuity (as in when 02 actually takes place), Yamato and Sora aren't a couple and, no, I have nothing against the pairing. None of the kids are dating and Tailmon (Gatomon) never got her Holy Ring back from Gennai. 
> 
> Just so you know, anything shown in italics indicates that it is a flashback (only for short sequences, anyway). Any dialogue using single quotation marks indicates that the character is thinking, unless used in a grammatically correct fashion. Anything with an asterisk by it means that there is a note about it at the end of the chapter.
> 
> Now, as always, I do not own any of the characters or places associated with the show, manga, game, etc. Bandai and Toei have that honor. Also, here are the ages of everyone for this fic...
> 
> Jou: 15/17 (Final year of junior high school/second year of high school)  
> Taichi/Sora/Yamato: 14/16 (Second year of junior high school/First year of high school)  
> Koushirou: 13/15 (First/Final year of junior high school)  
> Mimi: 13/15 (Year 8 of middle school/year 10 of high school)  
> Miyako: 12/14 (Final year of elementary/second year of junior high school)  
> Takeru/Hikari/Daisuke/Ken: 11/13 (Year 05 of elementary/First year of junior high school)  
> Iori: 9/11 (Year 03/05 of elementary)

#  Digidreams do Come True!

Chapter 01:「さよならみんなさん…」  
"Sayonara, minna-san…”  
"Farewell all…" Last Day in the Digital World…  


It had been almost two years since the children had seen their Digimon partners last. After their final battle facing Oikawa and his master, and sending all the Digimon inhabiting the earth back to their home, all gates leading to and from the Digital World closed for good, just like it had before.

After that infamous battle, it seemed that only the Chosen Children had any recollection of all that had happened during it. Even the parents of the Chosen Children seemed to remember it this time. All footage of the Digimon invading earth seemed to mysteriously vanish, and any news story or report on the Digimon that had inhabited the earth, wasn't in the old records, making it seem as if it had never happened at all.

Sitting on her canopy bed, wearing a dark green skirt, white stockings, and a red sweater, was a 15-year-old tanned-haired Tachikawa Mimi. It was late in the afternoon, and she'd just returned home from school. She sat down on her bed and sighed heavily. She was indeed thinking of her plant-like Digimon, Palmon. She held her Digivice in her hand as her bright, brown eyes began to water slightly.

'Oh Palmon, how I miss you and the other Digimon so much. I don't think I'll ever be able to forget that day…our last day in the Digital World…'

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A handsome dark-haired man, wearing a long, white robe stood in front of the children before him, a dire look upon his smooth face. "I hate to have to tell you all this, but you'll have to say goodbye to your Digimon partners."

"Gennai," a big-haired boy by the name of Yagami Taichi cried, "you can't possibly mean that!"

Gennai looked over at the boy, and then at the others, who also were astounded to hear such a command. He looked away from them, and stared down at the ground. This was the only answer Taichi and the others needed.

"I don't want to say good bye again," the handsome, basketball player, Takeru, argued as he grasped his off-white fisherman's cap tightly in his hands.

"Why do we have to say good bye?" a girl with dirty-red hair asked gently, nearly crying. "Why can't we visit anymore?"

"Well, Sora, your purpose has been served, and both worlds are safe once again. The different gates that you all used to get to and from the Digital World will no longer be operable for you all to travel through. It'll be impossible for you to stay. The Digital World is also reformatting itself, like it did before after you older ones defeated Apocalymon. All of the other children of the world have said goodbye to their Digimon partners, it's now time for you guys to do the same."

"So that's why you wanted us to come back to the Digital World after everything was dealt with…to break this depressing news to us," Taichi muttered.

Gennai slowly nodded. "As before..."

"We know, we know."

With that, all of the children seemed to wander off to different areas of the terrain to say their goodbyes.

Taichi was sitting down on a tree stump, quite gloomy. Seated with her back to him, was Taichi's childhood friend, Takenouchi Sora, and their partners seated on the ground beside them.

"Don't worry, Taichi, I'm sure we'll see each other again," the orange fire reptile by the name of Agumon assured his big-haired partner.

"Yeah, we did before," the pink bird added.

Sora frowned, and lowered her head. "I'm not so sure this time, Piyomon."

The bird couldn't help but stare up at her partner in grave confusion. "Why?"

"I kind of feel the same way," Taichi chimed in as he stood. "Look how long it took us before we saw any of you after our first adventure together…three years and a few times before that. Does this mean that we'll have to wait about another three, or until something else threatens our world or yours before we can see you on a regular basis again?"

Sora stared up at Taichi, and couldn't hold back any longer. She jumped up and hugged the boy tightly, and sobbed, "I don't want to say goodbye again, Taichi! I-I just can't!" Taichi patted Sora awkwardly on the back, not knowing what to say. After a short moment, she let go and wiped some more of her tears away while apologizing, but Taichi brushed it off.

"Let's not think about that," Agumon suggested, hoping to ease the negative tension currently brewing in the air. "Try to remember all of the good times we've had together."

"You're right," Taichi nodded as he hugged the reptile. He shed tears, but tried his best not to break down. "I'm going to miss you, Agumon."

"I'm going to miss you too, Taichi," Agumon sniffled.

"Oh, Piyo!" Sora cried as she hugged the bird-like Digimon tightly, "I was hoping to never have to go through this again!"

"I'm going to miss you Sora, just never forget me..."  
x x x x  
In another part of the area, stood the hyper, Motomiya Daisuke, his back leaned up against a tree, while his blue Digimon partner, V-mon, stared up at him with sad eyes.

"Well, it was nice knowing you, V-mon." Even though he was trying to hide it, Daisuke's voice was a bit shaky, and his nose was starting to run.

"Same here, Daisuke," V-mon whimpered.

He ran his hand through his spiky, maroon hair and stared up at the sky. "Who would've thought that there was a whole world filled with you little guys, and that I would have my very own, who turned out to be the best friend I ever had."

The goggle-headed boy couldn't hold back any longer, and cried heavily as he gave his partner a gigantic hug. "I-I-I'm going to m-m-miss you, V-mon," he sobbed, "just promise me that you'll never ever forget me!"

"Just as long as you don't forget me," V-mon bawled as his dark, innocent eyes flooded with tears.

"Just to think, I never got the chance to teach you how to play soccer properly."

"I'll pretend that you did, and make up the rules as I go along. That way, I won't forget about you and your love for the game!"

Daisuke broke the hug and gave him a small smile. Only V-mon would say something so adorable. "I don't have anything, but I want you to have this."

The 11-year-old boy dug through his pocket, and pulled out a bracelet which looked to be made from a bunch of seashells. He tied it onto V-mon's right wrist. "What's this?"

"It's a friendship bracelet."

"A friendship bracelet?"

He nodded. "I-I was actually planning on giving this to Hikari-chan," he blushed slightly and scratched his nose before continuing, "but I'm giving this to you instead. You are my best friend, and I could always make another one to give to Hikari-chan." He wasn't sure if he could ever get the guts to do such a thing. He was hesitant on actually giving her the one he'd just given to V-mon. "I learned about them a while ago and thought it'd be an interesting present. You can just ignore the Hikari (ヒカリ) written on it. If I would've known that after all of this, that we wouldn't be able to hang together anymore, I would've made it for you and just put your name on it."

"Daisuke...I-I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, pal. Just think of it as a memento of our friendship, and remember, we're invincible and will never lose to what we believe in, and we believe in our friendship!" the boy cheered as he shot his fist up into the air.

The small, blue Digimon smiled at his optimistic friend, one thing he admired about him, but felt a bit bad at the same time. "But Daisuke, I don't have anything to give you."

"You already have, V-mon," he assured him with a smile. "You gave me great memories of our adventures together, and I also have my D3 and D-Terminal. Those two things will always remind me of you, and how those helped you to evolve..."  
x x x x  
Sitting at the foot of a nearby lake, was a dark-blue-haired doctor-in-training, Kido Jou, along with a water-mammal Digimon with big paws. Jou sighed as he continued to skip the smooth pebbles that were at the lake's shore.

"It was nice seeing you again, Gomamon," Jou began, keeping his eyes fixated on the water, "even if it was for a short while."

"Yeah, it was. Hopefully, we'll get to see each other in the future."

"I hope so, and I'll try my best to visit more too instead of studying all the time. I'll visit every weekend or whenever we have a school holiday." The boy frowned as a realization swept into mind. "Oh wait, I can't. I still have to go to Juku (Cram School)." He gave off an exasperated sigh. "I just knew that we would always be able to come here. I didn't even think that all ways to the Digital World would end up closing like before since over the years, random gates have opened."

"Trying to become a doctor and studying hard at school takes a lot of work, Jou. It's not your fault that you couldn't come here as much since you had to study. You're in your last year of junior-high-school, and you did say something about studying for some kind of practice university entrance exam while also studying for your high-school entrance exam, whatever those are. Anyway, whenever there was trouble here, neither you nor I could really help out much since the new kids and their partners could handle things better.

"The time we spent in your world was fun, even if we were traveling around it, meeting other Chosen Children, and sending the Digimon who were invading your world, back here."

"Never a moment's rest," Jou chuckled lightly as he skipped another stone.

"Let's shake." Gomamon put out his paw. "Friends forever?"

Jou nodded. "You got it, buddy; friends forever."

"And if it turns out that I don't see you again, I wish you the best of luck on becoming a great doctor."

"Thanks, that means a lot to me. I promise to become the best doctor there is, just to make you proud!"

"You don't have to do that. You've already made me proud of you."

"Huh, what? How?"

"You've finally gained some self-confidence, and that's the best thing ever to me."

Jou smiled and hugged the water mammal...  
x x x x  
In another area, only closer to a temple...

"Just when I get used to coming to the Digital World, and everything is safe, and we can finally have some leisure time, I have to say good-bye!" wailed a skinny with long lavender hair. This girl with the large glasses was Inoue Miyako.

The small, brown-haired boy beside her nodded slowly. "Yes, this is quite upsetting."

A yellow Digimon resembling an armadillo with rough, tough skin looked up at the boy named Hida Iori. "It's hard to believe that I have to say goodbye to you, Iori, d'gya," Armadimon drawled. "We just met, practically."

"Now now," a wise, bird-Digimon started, "let's try not to cry. It was all part of the inevitable. We should have known that we would have to part ways at some point."

"B-b-but Hawkmon," Miyako blubbered. "why did it have to be so soon? I love you Hawkmon, and I hate to see the people I love, leave!"

Iori was quiet for a moment, as he understood exactly how Miyako felt. He loved Armadimon as well, and knew what it was like to lose someone that one loved; maybe it wasn't in the same sense as Miyako, but he could empathize with her. Miyako was upset because she was parting ways with a good friend, but there was always that possibility that she could maybe see him again. The person he lost, he couldn't see again no matter how much he wanted to. He lost his father years ago. He died in the line of duty, and was a highly respected police officer.

"Why don't we just remember the good times we've had together," Iori managed to say after being quiet for so long. It was told to him constantly by his mother and grandfather after his father was killed. "You know, all of the good memories."

"He's right," Hawkmon concurred. "Iori-kun is very wise."

"I'm going to really miss you, Armadimon. Because of you, I learned that people can change, and that everyone deserves a second chance. I also learned how important my friends are."

"You took the longest time to trust Ken after he was redeemed, even when he saved you," Armadimon pointed out, "but I'm glad that you realized that, and didn't continue to hold a grudge against him, d'gya."

"Hmm, because of you Hawkmon, I learned...well, nothing," Miyako said with a lopsided grin, "but I did learn not to act so recklessly and to not overdo things."

Hawkmon bowed like a "gentlemon". "Happy to be of service, Miyako-san."

"Iori, make me a promise."

"Okay, what is it?"

"I want you to try and become the best Kendo person ever, or whatever it's called, d'gya."

"That's a promise I can very well keep. I promise to continue with my Kendo training sessions with my grandfather, and do my very best."

"I also want you to promise me that you'll trust people more."

Iori nodded. "Most definitely, Armadimon."

"Miyako-san, promise me that you'll become that independent, highly-motivated woman of the 21st century. I'm quite sure that you will achieve it since you're a very hard worker, and who knows, maybe one day you'll go to America, and become their first woman President."

"Right, Hawkmon! I'll make sure to work even harder to obtain that goal!" Miyako told him. 'Even though I don't think I could become President of America. I'm not even a citizen.'

Iori looked back, staring at the ancient-looking buildings. "Isn't it strange how we ended up near a temple? It isn't the same one where we discovered you, but it does seem similar."

"That is quite ironic." Hawkmon nodded.

"I was quite surprised to find out that I had my own Digimon Partner who could armor evolve into something so grand, and regular evolve into something great. I shall miss you in all your forms."

"I'll miss Hawkmon in all of his forms too." She smiled at her partner. "Always remain cute and charming, Hawkmon."

Hawkmon felt his feathery face go red and nodded, as both hugged their Digimon...  
x x x x  
Not too far away from Daisuke...

"I don't want to leave you again!" cried Mimi. "Why couldn't those gates just stay open so that we can visit anytime that we like!?"

Crying just as much as her human partner was stood a forlorn Palmon. "I promise this time to give a proper goodbye, Mimi!"

"And try not to suffocate me this time, Koushirou-han," warned a ladybug like Digimon.

The redheaded computer whiz, Izumi Koushirou, laughed shortly, and went quiet. "It looks like this is goodbye again..."

"Koushirou-kun!" The boy jumped at Mimi's sudden outburst. "You're smart, couldn't you figure out a way for us to travel here with your computer?"

"I could try, but I don't think it would work. The Digital World is so strange."

"Yeah, it is," Mimi grumbled in slight agitation.

"Remember that program I used which allowed Tentomon to evolve to Kabuterimon the first time, and then when I tried it again on Patamon, it didn't work, and my entire laptop shut down?" She nodded. "Well, my assumption is that it'll end up being the same exact thing; work when it's actually supposed to." The redhead noticed the looks on Mimi and the Digimon's faces. He gave off a small, bashful laugh. "I'm sorry; I guess I didn't phrase that too well. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it was more than likely destined for this world to be reformatted once again, and for the gates to close to prevent anyone or anything from getting in or out of it. Since there is no more danger, the gates are more than likely going to remain closed." He sighed. "Let's just face it, this is literally goodbye."

"But it may be for good this time! I don't think we'll see them again after this, either!"

"D-don't be silly, Mimi-han," Tentomon spoke up, "of course you'll see us again."

"Yeah, we're sure of it!"

Koushirou and Mimi stood there, their looks quite grim. Just as most of the other kids and as much as Koushirou and Mimi wanted to believe in Tentomon's words, they just couldn't.

Breaking the deafening silence, Tentomon spoke up. "I'm going to miss you, Koushirou-han. I'm glad that you've finally learned to open up and interact more with people. You've grown a lot since I last saw you."

"I guess I have been working on that, and will continue to just for you, as well as for myself, of course."

"Mimi-chan, I'm glad that you're braver than when you were younger."

Mimi nodded and wiped away a newly fallen tear. "I know, and I'm glad that I am too. I still try to look nice, but there are times where you have to fight and be brave, and not worry about your looks. There are things more important than that."

"That's my Mimi!"

"And I also learned that inner beauty is just as important as one's outer beauty."

Palmon blinked, her blank, deep red eyes fixated on Mimi. "I taught you that?"

"Yes, the first time you evolved to Lilymon taught me that."

"Oh Mimi!" Palmon cried as she wrapped her vines around Mimi, who hugged her back tightly. Koushirou followed suit and gave Tentomon a hug.

"You know, I promised myself that I wouldn't cry, but I just can't help it," the girl's voice quivered, as tears streamed down her now rosy cheeks, "you're the best friend I've ever had."

"It's okay to cry, Mimi-han, especially if you're being suffocated and want to be freed."

"Oh, sorry, Tentomon," Koushirou apologized as he let go. "I didn't mean to hug you so tightly."

"That's okay, Koushirou-han," Tentomon gave him a quick hug back, "I'm going to really miss you and that wit of yours..."  
x x x x  
A little ways from Jou and Gomamon, only a bit farther up shore from them...

"It looks like this is goodbye again," a Digimon in a striped pelt softly uttered.

"Yeah," the blonde musician beside him nodded.

"I'm going to miss you, Yamato."

"Yeah," he nodded once again.

"Yeah," Gabumon nodded back.

Both remained silent for a moment, listening to the sounds of Jou skipping stones.

"Gabumon, I want you to have something," Yamato said suddenly. He dug through his pocket, and pulled out a shiny, rectangular object and handed it to his friend.

"But this is your...your-"

"I know, but I want you to have it to remember me by and as a token of our everlasting friendship. I generally always keep it with me. Promise that you'll take good care of it. I've had it since I was kid. "

"But Yamato, this is your harmonica. Your name is even engraved on it."

"I know, but I still want you to have it. Who knows when we'll actually be able to see each other again."

Gabumon eyed the metallic object within his paws. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Yamato gave him a smile. "I wouldn't mind hearing you play something."

Gabumon couldn't help but laugh. "I'm supposed to tell you that."

"Well, let's just try a little role reversal. Let's hear you play."

"Okay, here I go." The Digimon blew into the harmonica, playing whatever seemed natural. Too bad it sounded pretty bad. Yamato laughed at Gabumon's attempt.

"You could use a couple of lessons." Yamato took the harmonica back. "I'll teach you a song before I go, or at least part of it. I've played this for years, and it was one of the first songs I learned when I first got this. It reminds me of all the good times my family and I used to have together before my parents split up. It's one you've always heard me play too, and it's called, Run With The Wind..."  
x x x x  
A good ways from Miyako and Iori, sat the once 11-year-old boy-genius, Ichijouji Ken. He was sitting on the ground, crying his eyes out. He didn't want to leave his worm-like Digimon behind. He still felt incredibly guilty for the things he'd done to him in the past.

"Ken-chan?"

"I-I-I don't want to leave you, Wormmon," Ken sobbed. "Look at all the terrible things I've done to you for the past couple of years, like my beating and abusing you! I finally come to my senses, and now I'm going to lose you again."

"But I forgave you, Ken-chan," the worm squeaked.

"That's beside the point!"

Wormmon looked up at him, his eyes a bit watery. "I knew you were kind all along, since you were like that when we first met. That's why you possessed the Crest of Kindness. When you became mean, it wasn't even entirely your fault."

"I-I know. I-I just wish that I would've realized it sooner, so that we could've been better friends. You helped me to see that what I was doing as the Digimon Kaiser was wrong. You stuck by me, even after the way I treated you, like a true friend. After I got rid of that Kaiser persona, you helped me to cope with the death of Osamu-niisan more than what I had in the past, which also made me closer to my parents."

"Ken-chan, you were being controlled. You couldn't help what you were doing to me. It was all a part of BelialVamdemon's plan."

Ken hugged Wormmon tightly, still crying. "Wormmon, I swear that I will never ever forget you! That's a promise I intend on keeping."

Wormmon was now crying too. He couldn't help it. Ken's kindness was just too overwhelming for the green, bug Digimon. "Ken-chan, I won't forget you either, and I'll never forget your kindness."

"Wormmon!" Ken screamed out, his heart aching, and his eyes stinging. 'Why do I keep losing people that I love? I'll never get to see Wormmon again, just like my brother...'  
x x x x  
A little ways from Koushirou and Mimi...

"Well, Hikari-chan, it looks like this is goodbye for our Digimon again," the blonde-haired boy by the name of Takaishi Takeru announced depressingly.

"I know; I'm going to miss them," Yagami Hikari plainly replied.

A cat-like Digimon with yellow, paw-like gloves looked up at the two. "Be brave, and don't cry now."

"Yeah, because if you start crying, then I'll start," Takeru's mammal Digimon partner added, his eyes already saturated with the salty liquid. "Hey, Takeru, remember that promise we made when we had to say goodbye before?"

"I sure do, and I'm sticking with it. Let's promise to see each other again."

Patamon flew into Takeru's arms, the boy hugging him tightly. "Exactly what I was thinking, Takeru. As long as we believe it, it'll happen."

"Tailmon, I have something for you." Hikari pulled out a small, round object. The cat-Digi stared in amazement at the shiny object. "I got this for you a while ago. I was planning on giving this to you for Christmas, but we had so much to do, I never got the chance to.

"I knew how upset you were about losing your Holy Ring, so I got you this one. It should be able to fit on your tail like the old one, but I got a chain to go along with it so that you can just wear it around your neck instead. I know it's not like your regular one, but I hope this one is okay for you."

Tailmon looked up at Hikari teary-eyed. She took the present, and studied it. The ring was gold, and even had her name written on it. She hugged the generous girl. "Oh thank you, Hikari. This is even better than my old ring!"

"You're welcome. I saved up for a good while to get that for you. You should have seen the man at the jewelry store. He gave me a questioning look when I asked him to engrave the name, 'テイルモン"' onto it. He asked me what a Tailmon was, and I just told him that he wouldn't understand."

Tailmon looked at the girl credulously. "You couldn't think of anything, could you?"

"Wow, you read me like a book!"

"Well," she looked down at the ground, "I guess this is goodbye again."

"Yep, until next time," she responded with a perky smile.

"Next time?" both Patamon and Takeru asked in unison.

Hikari nodded and continued to carry on in her perky, bubbly manner.

"Strange, you said that before, and we did end up seeing each other again."

"Hikari-chan, do you know something that we all don't?"

"Takeru-kun, are you sure that you possessed the 'Crest of Hope'? You aren't acting too hopeful right now," she teased.

"But what are you saying? Do you really know something?"

She shrugged nonchalantly in response. "We better get going. We don't have much time left." With that, Hikari skipped off merrily leaving Takeru, Patamon, and Tailmon behind.

"Tailmon, did she really say that before to you? That we would end up seeing you all again?"

"Yeah. She seemed a bit bothered our parting ways, but not as upset as the rest of you all were. I sometimes wonder if her having the Crest of Light once has anything to do with her always sensing things."

"Maybe she's psychic, Takeru."

"You both could be possibly right. Remember when we were kids, when going against the Dark Masters, how my brother left us, after fighting Taichi-san?" They nodded. "Well, remember how at that time she became possessed by something, and a light was surrounding her? She ended up explaining how we were all chosen and how you guys became our partners.

"Taichi-san also mentioned that Hikari-chan knew what a Koromon was when he was taken back to our world after his battle against Etemon. Hikari-chan, at that time, hadn't even met a Digimon directly yet, unless she, at the time, remembered the battle we all saw many years earlier, although, I kind of doubt it since we all forgot it."

"Do you really think she's psychic?" Patamon asked.

The three could only shrug at each other before rushing off to catch up with Hikari...  
x x x x  
Takeru and Hikari joined the others in the clearing they had left, all of which waiting around, quite apathetic on going back home.

"Everyone has finally returned," Gennai noted.

"I guess we're all ready to go," Daisuke mumbled while wiping his eyes.

"Ready or not, you all must go since the Digital World is reformatting itself as we speak."

"Gennai-san, where did all of these television sets come from?" Around them all, were television sets. There was exactly one per child.

"Well, Sora, that is your key to getting home. Each set should send you back to wherever you are supposed to be."

"So you mean I'll end up back in New York?"

Gennai nodded. 'I just hope I set the gates up correctly. I don't want them to end up someplace like Antarctica or Alaska.'

Koushirou inwardly groaned. 'I sense a backache coming on. Every time we end up coming back from the Digital World through one of these gates, I always end up on the bottom of the pile with everyone else crushing me.'

"I'm going to miss all of you. If we can't travel freely to the Digital World anymore, I won't be able to see you all as much, unless I fly in from New York. I know we can always e-mail each other, or talk on the phone, but it's not the same as actually talking and seeing you in person.

"I have no idea when I'll be able to visit again."

Mimi grew quite emotional and started to hug everyone as well as giving them their own personal goodbye. "Sora-san, I'm going to miss you a lot. You're one of my best friends!"

"I'm going to miss you too, Mimi-chan, but we could always visit you in America," Sora suggested, trying her best not to cry any more than what she had. "I could always ask my father into letting me. He travels a lot because of his studies to write his books. If he goes to America, maybe we all could join him."

"That would be so nice, especially since my parents aren't going to be visiting Japan as much anymore since it does get a bit expensive. They also told me that we wouldn't be able to as much since papa has his work."

After Sora, the girl turned to the younger, glasses-wearing girl. Mimi gave her a smile. "Miyako-chan, I'll never forget you either." She gave her a huge hug. "You remind me of myself, pretty much, with your pure heart, hopes, and dreams. Always remain pure in spirit."

"I'll do my best, Mimi-sama. I'm really going to miss you. You're like the older sister I never had. How about you take the place of my real sisters and send them back to New York?" Both Mimi and Miyako laughed. "I know you can't. Visit us soon, Mimi-oneesama."

"Hikari-chan, you've grown and matured so much, even though, when you think about it, you've always been mature for your age." She hugged the shorter, younger girl. "I'm going to miss you just as much as I will the others."

Since the girls were done, Mimi headed over to the guys, starting with Taichi.

"Taichi-san, you were a very good leader to us all," she cried while hugging him. "Sure you goofed up sometimes, but you made up for it with your strength and courage. I'm going to miss you." After they broke the hug, Mimi leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I hope to see you again soon."

Everyone looked at Mimi slightly surprised. They weren't expecting her to do something like that. Taichi's face grew slightly red and was a bit flabbergasted. "Uh...sure thing...Mimi..."

"Daisuke-kun, I know I don't know you too well since we've met only a few times, but you're a very nice kid and you helped us out a lot, along with XV-mon." She gave him a peck on the cheek. "Goodbye."

Daisuke turned red as he nodded politely to her, speechless for once in his life.

"Takeru-kun, you've grown so much that it's almost hard to believe that you were once an eight year old that couldn't really take care of yourself." She kissed him on the cheek. After the kiss, she gave him a quick wink that only he could see and looked over towards Hikari. She then whispered, "Good luck with your personal matters; I know you'll get the nerve to do it someday."

Takeru seemed to be stuck in place. He had never received a kiss from a girl before, even though he was constantly pursued like his brother. Next, Mimi waltzed over to both Ken and Iori.

"I'm sorry; just like with Daisuke-kun, I didn't know you very well. I do know that both of you are okay in my book, especially you, Ichijouji-kun. You helped to save my Palmon, and all of the Yukimibotamon from Golemon."

Mimi gave Ken a quick kiss, like she had the other boys. This caused Ken to turn pink. "Th-thank you, Tachikawa-san," he managed to get out.

She knelt down and gave Iori hug. "Iori-kun, promise me that you'll always remain sweet and adorable."

Iori accepted the hug and the kiss, but didn't really react all that much; not in the fashion the other guys before him had anyway. It was almost as if he were enjoying the attention from Mimi, and looked to be smirking slightly, like he'd been in that type of situation before. "I promise, Mimi-san," he bowed.

"You're always so polite, and that's one thing about you I do hope never changes."

The girl stood, and brushed her skirt off. Next to Ken and Iori stood the "lone-wolf" of the group. "Yamato-san, I'm glad you're pursuing a career in music. You're a great musician as well as a talented one." After the hug and kiss, she smiled playfully at him. "Too bad I never got the chance to sing in your band."

Yamato, though he was trying not to, felt his cheeks going slightly red. This reaction was normal where pretty girls were concerned, though. He pretty much reacted in the same fashion years earlier when he and his fellow Chosens were hitch-hiking to Odaiba, and an older, very pretty, lady stopped and offered him a ride.

"Well, there's always a place for you if you ever want to try out," he managed to say as he regained his cool-guy composure. "You do have a very nice singing voice. Next time you do manage to visit, I'll let you sing in my band as a guest. I'm sure Akira, Yutaka, and Takashi wouldn't mind. You could even do a solo for whatever song you want to sing, or we can do a duet. I should start planning now."

"I'll definitely keep that in mind! I think I'll start planning too," she giggled as she made her way over towards Jou and Koushirou. Both looked incredibly anxious and extremely nervous. Mimi wasn't sure if she wanted to even give them a hug or not, but decided to continue on anyway.

"Jou-senpai, I'm glad that you're still trying to become a doctor, and dedicated as you are, I'm sure you'll do a great job since you're so responsible and reliable. We need doctors like you in the world!" She leaned up and gave him a kiss, and then hugged him tightly.

"Well, um...I...er...thanks for those words, Mimi-kun."

Mimi couldn't help but giggle at him. His reaction was just as she expected it to be. Mimi turned to face a slightly taller redhead, who was sweating profusely, obliviously pulling on the collar of his shirt. She cleared her throat and gave him a big smile. She was going to enjoy the reaction he would give. She had purposely left both Jou and Koushirou last for that very reason. "Koushirou-kun, I actually miss all of that computer talk of yours that I never really understood. It did annoy me sometimes since I didn't really get it, but that's what makes you, you. It also reminds me of all of the good times I had with Palmon when not worrying about evil Digimon."

She gave him a very big hug, and then a kiss on his cheek. "I'll most definitely miss you." She turned away from the boy quickly. "I'll miss you all, especially you cute Digimon."

All of the Digimon did a victory pose; meanwhile, Koushirou's face had gone so red from Mimi's kiss that one couldn't distinguish his face from his hair.

"Everyone, it is time," Gennai informed them. "The gates will be closing within the next two minutes, allowing the Digital World to reformat once again, although it'll be a while before getting to this sector. I'm really sorry that this had to be sprung on you, but the guardians made the decision quite hastily."

"Wait, what does that all reformatting stuff mean anyway?"

"Well, Daisuke, it means that this world is going to be restarting itself and is ridding itself of all the bad things within it."

"Eh?"

"Just think of it like an anti-virus program, Daisuke," Miyako explained. "Anti-virus programs delete and detect viruses and other threats that can harm your computer's hard-drive. I guess you could say the Digital World is doing the same thing."

Gennai nodded. "She is correct, for the most part. You guys could possibly die if you remain here since you're not typical Digital World data. It'll see you all as 'viruses' and you'll end up deleted. My data and the other Digimon here are all recognizable; unfortunately, you all are not."

"We got you, Gennai," Taichi cut across. He didn't want to hear this explanation again.

"You only have a minute now. The gates are open so that you can go through now."

After another quick goodbye and thanks, Mimi went through her gate. When the bright light died down, Mimi found herself back in her room. "I'm back...home...in America." She looked back at the screen and saw Palmon and the other Digimon waving to her. She couldn't help but cry...

The gates that Koushirou, Jou, Miyako, and Iori took caused them to end up back in Koushirou's room.

"Whoa, what a ride," exclaimed Miyako.

Iori seemed to be studying his surroundings. This wasn't where they had started. The room was quite neat and on the desk sat two computers; a desktop and a laptop. "We are in the room of Koushirou-san. It's strange how the separate gates we came through were through his laptop." He pointed to the older boy's Pineapple Laptop.

Koushirou sat down at his desk and looked at it. "He's right, we did end up coming back through here. That is unusual."

"Miyako-kun, Iori-kun…your clothes," the doctor-in-training pointed.

Both looked down and noticed what Jou had. The two still had on their Digital World clothing. Usually when going back and forth to the Digital World, Miyako, Iori, Daisuke, Takeru, and Hikari's clothing would usually change. When exiting, they'd usually end up going back to their normal attire. How this happened, no one could answer, but it was something they all had gotten used to.

Koushirou placed a finger on his chin. "That is absolutely fascinating."

"Everyone, look at the screen," Iori inculcated. On the screen, all of the Digimon and Gennai were waving to them. Miyako started to blubber after seeing Hawkmon and started to go on about how much she loved him and how she would miss him.  
x x x x  
Ken ended up back in his dark, dreary room, incredibly depressed. He really felt as if he had just lost his best friend, or either another family member. He looked back at the screen as tears filled his violet eyes. "W-wormmon," his voice quivered, "you were my best friend..."

Takeru, Daisuke, and Yamato ended up back in Odaiba Elementary's computer lab.

Daisuke, after getting up off the cold floor, began to look around. "I wonder where Hikari-chan is."

"Sora, Taichi, and the others aren't here either," Yamato responded, as he too began to look around. "We all started at the campgrounds of Mikami Keikoku."

Takeru's attention was too focused on something else to worry about the others at the moment. He pointed to the hyper, goggle-headed boy. "Daisuke-kun, look!"

"Huh, what?"

"Your clothes."

"Hey, I'm still wearing my Digital World clothes. I could never wear them outside of the Digital World before. How come they didn't change when going through the gate like they usually do?"

"That's not possible, is it?" Yamato asked.

Unable to answer they all looked back at the computer screen. They saw all of their Digimon waving to them. Gabumon was even attempting to play Yamato's harmonica. He didn't get the chance to learn the song well, but he learned a few notes. He had promised Yamato, after teaching him, that he would learn it well, and practice, so that the next time he saw him, he'd be able to play for him flawlessly.  
x x x x  
Taichi, Hikari, and Sora, ended up back in the Yagami home, in Taichi and Hikari's father's study...

"Hey, this is pop's room," Taichi pointed out while getting up.

"How did we end up here, oniichan?"

"Your guess is as good as mine's."

"We older kids were at Mikami Keikoku when we were first taken to the Digital World," Sora said, quite bewildered, "why are we back here of all places?"

Obliviously, the three looked back at the computer's screen. Their Digimon looked rather depressed as they waved to their partners. Taichi and Sora's faces fell as they tried to hold back tears. Hikari, on the other hand, was smiling cheerfully as she waved back. "I just know we'll see them again. Maybe it'll be a long time from now, but I know we will, and I'm sure it'll be on good terms and not because of something trying to take over again."

The two older teens looked over at the younger girl curiously. Before either could question her, they heard Gennai speak up. "I'm glad that you all ended up back home okay. This was the best that I could do, so you all ended up in different places than you originally started from.

"It was very nice to see you all again, I just wish you all could have stayed longer, but I mustn't defy the Holy Beast Guardians. If the world is to be reformatted to rid itself of all the negative energy here and to keep anything else from getting in, then there's nothing I can do about it.

"Also, as for the items some of you all left behind, they will most definitely be erased after the reformation is complete since it won't be recognized."

V-mon, Gabumon, and Tailmon gasped and began to argue with the dark-haired being. "Don't worry, I can protect the objects and keep them from being deleted. Just hand over anything the kids left you. They did so, and within a blink of an eye, Gennai had formed some kind of blue sphere within his hand. He put the objects in it. "There, it should be fine now. I'll give these back to you after the reformation has been completed."

Their Digimon, once again, began to shout out things to the kids like, "We'll miss you", or, "Good luck", and other things of encouragement. After a moment, the screen faded, the gate permanently closed. That was the last that Mimi and the other kids saw their Digimon partners...

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not wanting to think anymore of such a depressing ordeal, Mimi decided to go back to reading her book for her English Literature class. It was an extremely boring subject to her, but it was better than sitting around moping about how much she was missing Palmon and the other Digimon. Before reading, she hooked her Digivice back onto the belt of her skirt. No matter what, she kept it with her wherever she went.

The girl went back to her literature book, trying her best to stifle back a yawn, when she heard a strange noise coming from her door. "Is someone there?" she asked cautiously.

"Wouldn't you like to know," the person responded in a heavy, raspy voice.

Mimi stood up, quite alert. "Who's there?!" the girl demanded. The person just laughed. "Papa, is-is that you?" No one answered. "This isn't funny! Who's there!" she cried.

"I know who you are."

Mimi went to her closet and pulled out a baseball bat. Surprisingly, the girl had once played on her school's girls' softball team her first year of high school. She wanted to try at least one sport and to tell Sora about it, but one season was more than enough for her.

"You better identify yourself this instant!" the girl ordered, her voice a bit shaky.

"Maybe I will...maybe I won't," the person chuckled, finding Mimi's current scared state amusing.

"P-please, tell me who you are!"

"Just answer me this one thing. Do you like..."

"Do I like what?"

"Scary movies?"

"What?!"

"Do you like scary movies," he repeated quite casually.

"That does it!" The teen had finally grown quite frustrated an annoyed of this charade. "I am not going to stand for this!"

Slowly, she went towards her door, her bat held firmly in her other hand. She opened the door fast, swinging the bat, but stopped midway, letting out a gasp surprised at the person she'd almost hit...


	2. Night Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For this chapter, we see who was at Mimi's door. Is the person a friend or foe?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the first chapter was okay. The previous chapter was pretty long, and I do apologize for that, but from this chapter forward, it should be relatively shorter by comparison, unless there are a lot of notes at the end. For the previous chapter, I just really wanted to show the farewells between the kids and their partners.
> 
> Now, as always, I do not own any of the characters/places associated with the show, manga, game, etc. Bandai and Toei have that honor and right.

Chapter 02: 「ミミ、映画を見ますか?」  
"Mimi, eiga o mimasu ka?"  
"Mimi, want to see a movie?" Mimi & Michael's Night Out!

Mimi stared at the person in surprise. Instead of it being someone who would harm her, she found herself facing the complete opposite. There stood a tall boy with bright, wavy blonde hair, and mesmerizing deep blue eyes wearing a pair of blue jeans, a green t-shirt, and a thick black jacket.

"Michael!" Mimi screeched at the boy. "You scared me! How did you change your voice the way you did?!"

The boy held his stomach and laughed uncontrollably. "I did it because you look cute whenever you're scared," he teased. He held out his left hand. In it was a small black box, which had a few buttons on it and a part to speak through. "It belongs to the drama club. Wallace was playing around with it when at my place this afternoon. He left it there." The device allowed one to change the pitch and tone of one's voice. "I guess you can take care of yourself," he sniggered with a grin. "I was just testing you; I wasn't expecting you to take a bat out on me."

Mimi playfully swung the bat at the boy threateningly. "I could so hurt you right now!"

"Sorry, sorry," he apologized while stifling his laughter.

"Who let you in? I didn't hear the doorbell."

"Your mother," he explained as he sat down on Mimi's bed. "I noticed that she was dressed up really nicely too, like she's going someplace special."

"Papa has to go to a dinner party that's being thrown by his boss, and my mom's going with him."

"Oh, so that explains it." Michael went through his coat pocket, and pulled out a CD. "I brought this over for you," he said as he tossed it to her. "You should like this; I know how much you like this group and just had it recently imported, thanks to my father of course. Too bad you couldn't get it earlier, like the first day of its release."

"Cool!" the girl exclaimed. "I've wanted to hear this album for a while now! Who cares if it came out a few weeks ago! I so love the group dream!"

"Yeah, I hear that _Love Generation_ is a pretty decent album. It's nice to know that you're still a fan of them, even though they changed up quite a bit."

"Yeah, I do miss Mai-chan, but the music is still nice." She tossed the CD back to Michael. "Pop it in; I want to listen to it."

Beside Mimi's canopy bed, was an exquisite dresser, and atop it, sat Mimi's pink radio, which doubled as a CD player. Michael put the CD in, and both sat back and bopped their heads to the music.

"Oh, I like this song. I heard this one a while ago through satellite when the group performed it on Hey! Hey! Hey!"

"This is a nice song, and I know you sing it well too since you have the single this song is from. You sing better than they do."

"You know that's not true."

"No way. I'm serious. Whenever you go back to Japan, you should join the group and become the new lead singer."

Mimi slightly blushed from the compliment. "You're crazy, but thanks for bringing this over."

"No problem."

Mimi still resided in Manhattan, New York along with both her mother and father, and was in her second year of high school. Along with the music-loving girl, was her good friend Michael, who of which was also a fellow Digidestined.

Even though Mimi wasn't native to the land, she still managed to remain popular amongst her peers, and was still well-rounded. Having lived there for a little over three years, she had gotten a bit used to it. As far as school went, she was in the chorus and participated in her school's cheerleading/pep squad. She'd even taken a Rhythmic Dance class, but didn't stick with it as she found cheerleading more fun.

Another club she was a part of, was the Foreign Language Club, which was pretty interesting to the teen since there was so much to learn dealing with other cultures. The club consisted of those studying lot of different languages; the main ones being French and Spanish.

She was currently learning Spanish (she needed a foreign language requirement). She felt that Spanish would be easier to study as opposed to the other languages her private school offered, and wanted to try and tackle one of the well-known "Romance Languages" in general. The other types of languages that her school offered, aside from English as a second language, which she also had to take, were: Chinese; Japanese; German; Italian.

Michael stood and bowed, as if the perfect gentleman. "Would you care to dance, my dear Mimi-chan?"

"I would love to, good sir," she laughed as Michael took her hand. The two danced along to the music. The song that was currently playing was an upbeat one, which both enjoyed.

After the song finished, both sat down. "Wow, dancing can sure be tiring," Mimi breathed out.

"Something else you're good at," Michael whistled as he laid out on the bed. "I was never all that great a dancer."

"Well then, I'll teach you a couple of dance steps, just like I did with my…"

Michael sat up. "Mimi, what's wrong?"

"I was just remembering the time I taught Palmon how to dance," she responded quietly.

"I guess you really miss your Palmon." She nodded somberly. "I miss Betamon too. We all had good times together when we weren't fighting against corrupt or bad Digimon."

"It's been almost two years since I've heard from Palmon. If only we could go back and see them. I hate the fact that every time a gate seems to open, it's because the Digital World is having some type of a crisis or it just randomly happens. According to Gennai-san, that was the reason for it closing permanently this time since the Holy Beast Guardians don't want to risk anything evil entering it, or exiting it. What was the point of Oikawa-san making that barrier in the first place?!"

"Maybe it's just an extra precaution so that we don't end up with another situation like with what happened with Mr. Oikawa."

"Why can't we just all have a nice, quiet day there where nothing goes wrong? Why couldn't the guardians permit us to occasionally visit?"

"My guess is that everything is still okay since no gates have opened neither purposely nor randomly, and none of your friends from Japan have mentioned anything about there being any trouble on their end, and everything on our side is okay."

"True," Mimi stated plainly, as she wanted a more optimistic response out of the boy, or either a solution to their current problem. "After we returned to our world, Koushirou-kun sent me an e-mail telling me about how both he and Miyako-chan tried my idea of opening up another gate to the Digital World through his computer, but it didn't work.

"I'm starting to wonder if we're finally too old to visit the Digital World anymore," the girl frowned. 'I wish I could go back five years and spend time with Palmon all over again without the threat of Devimon, Etemon, Vamdemon, and the Dark Masters. I really really miss her and the others…'

"Hmm, let's find a way to help cheer ourselves up," Michael suggested. He figured they could use a distraction to get their minds off of their current situation that neither had any control over. "We could go out to a movie, and then have ourselves some dinner, and I'll treat." He looked down at his watch. "It's a little after five now."

"I guess that'd be okay."

"Okay then, hop onto your computer, and let's find ourselves a movie." Mimi nodded and took a seat at her computer desk which was located on the other side of the room. She rarely ever used it, except to send e-mail to her friends when her phone wasn't available, school assignments, and listening to mp3s and CDs while doing her homework. She hardly ever surfed the internet for anything and didn't really have much patience for chat rooms and instant messaging, as she preferred to go out and physically interact with people; besides, *she still wasn't all that great a typist, which was why she preferred doing video messages and video chatting.

It took the two a while, but they decided to catch an 8 o'clock film starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet called Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which was being shown downtown. It was being shown over, despite the fact that it had first been released months earlier. Mimi wasn't big on American films…unless subtitled and Japanese subtitled movies were rare, but figured that she could use the English listening practice. Michael didn't care for movies by Jim Carrey much but figured that this one wouldn't be too bad, as it wasn't a comedy, therefore, he more than likely wouldn't be acting the part of some annoying, obnoxious character.

"Well, this one sounds interesting enough, since the two main characters are trying to erase each other from one another's memories," Michael commented dryly. He really wanted to see Resident Evil: Apocalypse, but knew that Mimi didn't care for those types of movies. 'I'll get to see that movie at some point!'

"It sounds a bit sad that two people who started off as a loving couple can actually grow to dislike each other to the point where they want to literally forget one another, but maybe it'll turn out okay in the end."

"I guess. Anyway, we'll probably be back sometime around midnight or close to it; do you think your parents’ll mind? I know mine won't since they're both out of the country right now."

"They are? Where are they?"

"My old man's filming his latest movie in Switzerland, and my mom decided to tag along for a couple of weeks. She should be back by the end of this month. I thought I told you about it."

The young girl shook her head. "Why did they leave you behind?"

"We're still early in the school year and mom didn't want to take me out of school."

"I guess that makes sense."

"So, what about you?"

"Hmm, I guess my parents wouldn't mind it if I went out tonight. They'll probably still be out when we get back," she smiled mischievously, "and what they don't know, won't hurt them."

"Ahh, very sneaky. I see some of my ways have rubbed off on you."

Mimi giggled and let her folks know what she and Michael were planning. After the "okay" from her mother, she grabbed her jacket – perfect for the cool, crisp, early autumn weather – and headed out the door with Michael by her side…  
x x x x  
A few hours later, way past midnight, since the two ended up going out for Japanese-style karaoke, the two returned to the big, surprisingly empty, house, discussing the movie in-depth and how it was actually interesting. Michael went on about how he liked the way it ended, leaving one to speculate on what happened to the couple after getting back together, while Mimi didn't care for that aspect. She just wanted them to directly come right out and say whether or not the couple would be happy or not.

Michael planned on going home, but decided to get Mimi home first and to call his home – which currently consisted of servants – to let them know that he was still at the Tachikawa place, and how he was planning on staying for a while since Mimi's parents hadn't returned from their dinner party. After he was done with the phone, he joined Mimi in her room, who was hanging up her dark-red jacket in her huge, walk-in closet.

"After seeing this movie, I guess I can say that Jim Carrey isn't too bad. I think I prefer him in more serious roles instead of stupid ones where he just repulsed me, like that one movie you showed me...Dumb & Dumber! I didn't really get the comedy for that one." Since the girl was still technically new to the states, American humor was still a bit lost on her, which was why she avoided most American comedies. They weren't as easy to follow like dramas.

"Well, the title wasn't an understatement," Michael laughed, "that movie _was_ dumb."

"Just so you know I won't be able to hang out with you tomorrow. We're having a Foreign Language Club meeting."

"Oh, is that so?" Michael made himself comfortable on Mimi's stuffed-animal-decorated pink canopy bed.

"Yeah. For this meet, we're going to be talking about Japan. I know I'll really enjoy it, and I can tell everybody else all that I know about Japan since I'm from there, and can also make it very clear that the Chinese and the Japanese are different. I also promised to sing a few Japanese songs that I know and like."

This grabbed Michael's attention greatly as he sat up. "What songs did you choose?"

"I decided to sing a few songs by one of my favorite artists, AiM."

"AiM…AiM…is she the one who used to go by the name, Maeda Ai?"

"Yeah. She only started going by the stage name AiM in about the year 2000 so that people wouldn't confuse her with another singer by the same name. The other one is much younger than AiM, but there was still a bit of confusion."

"Well, in that case, I know who you're talking about. AiM is a very nice singer."

"The songs I plan on singing tomorrow are: ‘I wish...’, ‘Itsumo Itsu demo’, ‘Ashita wa Atashi no Kaze ga Fuku’, ‘Itsu Demo Aeru Kara’, ‘Find Out’, ‘On the Hill~Kaze wo Kanjite~’, ‘Like a Candle’, and ‘Super Girl’. I really like them all, and have many more, but narrowed it down to those. I may have to narrow it down a bit more.

"Everyone really wanted me to sing to them since they like my voice…so they said anyway. It's like I'm going to practically give a mini-concert for the entire club tomorrow afternoon and we're going to have the meeting in the auditorium, which is even better."

"Well, you do have a pretty singing voice, and *you even sound a little similar to AiM."

"No way," Mimi shook her head, "I'll never sound as nice as her."

"Mimi, you're good. I've heard her songs, and I've heard you sing plenty of songs in Japanese since you like karaoke. We just went out tonight for karaoke. You sound great; maybe even better than her."

"Michael," the girl giggled and blushed.

"You know I don't lie," he winked. "I was just wondering, though…what are you going to use for music? I doubt you could get any of the strings or band members to play those songs since it'll take more than one night to learn the music."

"I'm taking my karaoke machine with me along with a CD that has all of the karaoke versions of the songs with the background vocals. I'll just sing to that."

"All of the songs you mentioned have karaoke versions of them?"

"Well, no, not exactly. ‘Find Out’, ‘Like a Candle’, and ‘On the Hill~Kaze wo Kanjite~’ don't, but I don't have to worry about that."

"But how are you going to sing to the karaoke of a song if the karaoke doesn't exist?"

"Koushirou-kun and Miyako-chan," she answered briskly.

"What about them?"

"A while ago, when I promised this, I really wanted to use those particular songs. I asked them if they knew of a way for me to, and Koushirou-kun told me that he could easily filter out the vocals using some audio-editing program. Both he and Miyako-chan work on the sound for the Teen-Age Wolves, the band of Yamato-san, so they have access to the equipment used down in the studio."

"So they just filtered out the main vocals?"

"Yep."

"But wouldn't that sound a bit bad quality wise?"

"I think so, normally; I don't know much about that type of stuff, but they did a terrific job on it. You'd never guess that these songs didn't have an original karaoke. They sent the songs back to me through e-mail in mp3 format, and I burned them onto a blank CD as audio, along with the other songs I mentioned. I just have to decide on the order I want to sing them in."

"Amazing, I never knew that you could do that type of thing."

"Maybe I should bring in some props or do something to create a Japanese type atmosphere. Michael, I really wish you would join. You're very good with Japanese, and you can speak Spanish fluently."

"If I didn't have my Karate sessions, I would. I'm already up to my second brown belt, and I also have a Swimming Club meeting. Have to prepare for the spring. It's kind of strange, though, how my Karate and your Foreign Language club seem to fall on the same days at times."

"I forgot all about your Karate." She rested her hand on her hip. "The club is looking for more multilingual students, and you'd be the perfect candidate since you know about three languages fluently: English, Spanish, and Japanese."

"I know a bit of Italian and French too, but not too much since I didn't live in Italy or France too long."

"Wait, can't you speak some Mandarin Chinese too?"

"Yeah, a little bit, but reading is difficult for me, just like with Japanese. The only reason I ended up learning anything at all was because of my father. He filmed a lot of his movies in China and we lived in Beijing, which is how I picked up on Mandarin Chinese.

"I only know the Spanish because of living here in New York and had Spanish-speaking friends. I just picked up on it. I can get by with it, but don't ask me to write anything.

"As for the Japanese, I just found the culture interesting when I was very young. In our old neighborhood, we had a lot of Japanese-Americans living there, and had friends who were. Too bad we ended up moving, and I had no one to speak it with, until you came along.

"My English teacher asked if I would like to earn extra credit, and you know I jumped at the chance to. She explained the situation of a new Japanese student transferring into our school who didn't know much English. I was surprised to see that it was you. *It was our second time meeting.

"I'm glad I was able to help. You caught on very quickly. The Spanish I've been speaking since I was really little, and my mother speaks it, so I picked up on it from her too."

"I never felt that I caught on all that fast, but you were very patient with me," Mimi smiled dreamily. "Pienso que aprender español es mucho mas facil que ingles."

"Hey, you've been practicing, even though that's pretty much book Spanish," Michael stated with an approving smile. "Do you really think it's easier to learn Spanish than it is to learn English?"

"Sí, tambien, francés es mucho mas dificil que aprender que español."

"So you think French is harder to learn than Spanish too?"

"Sí," Mimi gave Michael a sly look, "pero japonés es mucho mejor."

"Oh that's just cheating, saying Japanese is pretty much the best," Michael laughed. "Well, good luck to you for tomorrow. Sorry I won't be there."

"That's okay, I don't mind, but I can give you a demonstration right here. I should get in some last minute practice anyway. Which song do you want me to try to sing first?"

"Hmm, how about ‘Itsumo Itsu demo’?"

"Good choice; I really need to practice with that one a bit since there are no background vocals. ‘I wish...’ is another…"

"Mimi?"

"I' m sorry," the girl apologized while forcing on a smile. "I just had another memory. I was thinking about the time I had to sing to awaken Tonosama Gekomon (Shogun Gekomon), and the song I performed for him was ‘I wish...’.”

"Seems like almost everything reminds you of or links you to the Digital World."

"Yeah, seems so. Even the computer does."

"The computer?"

"It reminds me of going to the Digital World, and of Koushirou-kun. He's definitely a computer otaku, but during our adventures in the Digital World, he figured out the majority of things while there, and stuff concerning our Digimon through his laptop. He really came through for all of us. It also reminds me of how we traveled to and from there when the newer kids were chosen, opening up a gate through the computer."

"Maybe, but I just get this feeling that there's more to this than just missing Palmon. I've noticed how you've been these past few days now. Is there something else going on?"

"Well..y-yeah, there is…kind of. I'm a bit homesick right now..."

"I figured it was something, since lately, you've been talking about Tokyo and your friends there non-stop."

"I don't hate it here; I just really wish I were back in Odaiba right now."

"You don't mind if I ask why, do you?"

"No, not at all."

"I'm all ears."

"The problem is with my friend, Sora-san. She's having an issue involving a boy right now, and I just wish I were there to give her some moral support, like a good friend."

Michael couldn't help but smirk. "Yeah, you girls need to stick together. Girl Power!"

"Michael, I'm serious!"

"So-so, what type of trouble is it? Let's see if I can give some advice from a guy's point of view."

"I hope I don't bore you too badly with this drama stuff, but here it goes. Sora-san is dating a guy, but she's doing it in secret. She's been dating him for almost a month now. She has a guy friend, and doesn't want him to know about it because she has this strange feeling over how he may react. To make things worse, her 'secret boyfriend', is also good friends with her guy friend, but he's getting frustrated because Sora-san is still insisting on keeping their relationship secret."

"Do I know these guys?"

"You know of them, but that's not important right now. What do you suggest they do? I told her that the two of them should tell their friend. It's better to hear it from them than from somebody else. I'm surprised they managed to keep it secret for so long."

"I was going to say something like that. It's tough keeping something like that a secret for long. I'm sure that their friend would find out eventually, and it'd probably make him feel worse. Is Sora really good friends with this guy?"

"Yes, best friends. He's her best guy friend."

"Then she should go on and tell him or just make it obvious that she's with the other guy. It'll mess up their relationship if she doesn't. Best friends shouldn't keep secrets from each other, especially over something so trivial. Also, if he values his friendship with her, he'll be happy for Sora, not upset."

"I hope she does just that, and if she doesn't tell him, I hope her new boyfriend tells him."

"So it's a real love triangle, eh?"

"Well, maybe it is, a little, even though the guys involved don't know how the other feels…"

Wanting to get off of the topic, she went over to the computer and picked up a CD labeled, "FLC Songs 1". "I'm going to practice now with my karaoke machine. Could you set it up for me, please?"

"Yeah, alright." Michael got up from his comfortable spot and pulled the karaoke machine out of Mimi's closet.

Mimi was looking through her dresser drawer for the other CD she was planning on using for the club meet. "Now where did I put that thing," she muttered.

While both teens were occupied with their tasks, Mimi's radio began to play.

"Michael," Mimi looked back, "did you turn my radio on?"

Michael looked up from his spot and shook his head as Mimi joined him. "No, I was about to ask you if it had an automatic timer or something for it to come on."

"No, I don't use the alarm on it."

A faint, white glow seemed to illuminate the pink radio as it crackled and sparked. There was also an inexplicable wind filling the room, which caused the young girl to instinctively grab hold of Michael's arm. It was like a hurricane was specifically targeting her room.

"Michael, what's happening!" Mimi shouted over the whistling winds.

"I don't know, but let's get out of here!"

The two ran towards the door, which had been slammed shut due to the wind. Michael tugged at the door, pulling with all his might. "Hurry, Michael!" Mimi told him urgently, as she moved some of her long hair from out of her face.

"The door…it's stuck! It won't open!"

Before either one could react, a beam of bright white light shot out from the radio, hitting the both of them. Mimi and Michael screamed as they felt themselves being pulled into the light. Not wanting to be separated by this abnormal occurrence, both spontaneously clasped hands.

"Michael!"

"Mimi, hold on! Don't let go!"

The two now found themselves in a strange, tornado like structure, being tossed around as if trapped in a waterless washer.

"I...can't...hold...on..." Michael grunted and felt Mimi's hand slipping from his.

Both screamed as they were forced apart, flying in opposite directions.

"Mimi!"

"Michael, no!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> Author's Notes  
> 
> 
> Note 1: Mimi's preference of doing videos over typing is canon as it was mentioned by her in the Original Story drama. There she mentioned she wasn't a good typist and not very good with computers.  
> x x x  
> Note 2: I just thought I'd include a note here to explain what each song is. For the record, all of these songs were chosen at random.
> 
> I wish…: This is the first Digimon Adventure ending theme song. For the actual sequence, it shows all of the kids (minus Hikari and Tailmon) and their Digimon up to their adult (champion) levels. At that particular time, she was still going under the name, "Maeda Ai". This is also the original song Mimi had to sing to awaken Tonosama Gekomon (Shogun Gekomon) in the episode, Princess Karaoke.
> 
> Itsumo Itsu demo: This is the second Digimon Adventure 02 ending and at the time, she was going by "AiM".
> 
> Ashita wa Atashi no Kaze ga Fuku: This is the first Digimon Adventure 02 ending theme, and she was going by "AiM".
> 
> Itsu demo aeru kara: This song is by Maeda Ai, and is Mimi's Digimon Adventure character theme. Whenever doing a character theme or a voice over role, AiM is pretty much always credited through her real name.
> 
> Find Out: This is the b-side track of the Stand By Me~Hito Natsu no Bouken~ single (the special one that was released). A-side track, Stand By Me~Hito Natsu no Bouken~, was movie 3's ending theme song. This, too, was performed by "AiM".
> 
> On the Hill~Kaze wo Kanjite~: This is performed by Maeda Ai. It is the b-side track of her Keep On single. Keep On is the second Digimon Adventure ending theme.
> 
> Like a Candle: This song is the only "non-anime" related song mentioned so far. This is the theme song for the PSX game, Meimai Kishidan. 
> 
> Super Girl: This is a nice, upbeat song. It's performed by Maeda Ai, and it's Mimi's Digimon Adventure 02 character theme.  
> x x x  
> Note 3: Michael's statement, "...you even sound a bit similar to AiM", is pretty much a true one. AiM (Maeda Ai) is Mimi's seiyuu (voice actress), which was changed for Tri, and for practically any Digimon-related fic you may read by me, and Mimi's "singing" is pointed out, I will more than likely always go on to mention AiM, or have another character allude to the fact that Mimi sounds like her  
> x x x  
> Note 4: This note regards how Mimi and Michael met. As we all know, Mimi did make some American Digidestined friends. Canonically, Mimi and Michael met during 9/11, but I'm not sure if they formerly introduced themselves (along with the others) at the time. This was all mentioned during the Original Story drama, which took place September 2001. Mimi was working on a video message for her friends back in Odaiba, going on about Native American culture since her father’s boss was Native American. While doing this, the towers were hit. She was disconnected but she returns later to finish the message, letting them know that she was okay, and mentioned meeting other kids who had Digimon partners trying to help. She said that she couldn't speak to them because of the language barrier, but showed them her Digivice and they understood she was one of them. Before ending, she mentioned that she and her parents were going back out to help.
> 
>  
> 
> Fic Chapter Changes  
> 
> 
> I added in Mimi taking English as a second language classes and also went on to mention that she had trouble understanding American humor and that it's difficult to follow sometimes. Realistically, I could see this being an issue with most. If you grow up in a certain culture, what one culture finds amusing (and I mean this in a general sense), may be lost on those who grew up outside of it.
> 
> I added in that along with going to a movie and having a late meal, that they'd also gone out for karaoke. Japanese-style karaoke boxes do exist in New York. Two of them come to mind for me. At the time I wrote this originally, I didn't know and never did mention what actually kept them out so late.
> 
> I changed a bit about how Michael and Mimi met and how it was mentioned that their meeting in school was their second, and formal time, seeing one another as opposed to their first.
> 
> In the original version of this fic, I had Michael talking more about Super Girl's song that always sounded a bit suggestive. It felt unnecessary to keep that in.
> 
> I added in more regarding Sora's boy problem and changed the length of the relationship from two weeks to a month. I also added in that the boyfriend is starting to grow frustrated over their secret dating situation.


	3. Late Afternoon Project

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For this chapter, we join the computer whizzes of the group, whom are working on a time-consuming project…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter for you, and I hope you all are still around. As a warning, there's going to be quite a few chapters before it shows the main plot. I have to have all of the kids abducted before I can remotely get into the cause. Even though it's still a bit early, I'm sure you'll eventually notice a pattern with these chapters and the way the kids are being abducted. With the exception of about four (I'm counting Mimi here, since Michael isn't a Japanese Chosen Child, as he's an American Digidestined), all the kids are pretty much being abducted in pairs. I'm pretty much doing this to avoid the story being dragged out longer than it has to be, as it's grown a bit long already.
> 
> Now, as always, I do not own anything dealing with the show, manga, game, etc. Toei and Bandai have that honor.

Chapter 03: 「京くんのコンピュターゲームのデジモンです!」  
"Miyako-kun no KONPYUTAA GEEMU no Dejimon desu!"  
"Miyako's Digimon computer game!" Koushirou & Miyako's Late Afternoon Project!

Over in Tokyo at Odaiba Junior High, sat two computer-savvy students in one of the student computer labs. Both were working on a project that made the now 14-year-old Inoue Miyako a bit frustrated. Even though it had been a couple of years, there really hadn't been too much of a change with her, aside from her being slightly more humble and a bit taller.

As of the moment, no one else was near the computer lab, and the only people around were those participating in after-school activities and teachers. The area in which they were in was pretty much isolated, but every once in a while, someone would pass by. The reason for the isolation was due the fact that the teacher in charge of the Computer Club was allowing the two to use it, especially since both had special positions within the club and were given the permission to. There was no meeting that afternoon, and the lab would usually be locked up after a while.

"Why in the world did I promise something like this," Miyako groaned in extreme exasperation. "This is my last day to work on this since I'll be too busy tomorrow!"

"Don't worry; I'm here to help you."

"You don't have to help me if you don't want to. This is _my_ problem."

"Nah, I don't mind helping," the redhead assured her sincerely. "You looked a bit overworked when I was walking by, so of course I would want to help."

"I just _had_ to say I'd program my own RPG and present it by Monday!" Miyako laid her head down on the desk and snorted. "I'm nowhere near finished with this! It has too many stupid glitches, and I have no idea why! There always seems to be a different problem every day!"

Miyako was now in her second year at Odaiba Junior High, still an ace where computers and computer hardware were concerned, and was pretty much the unofficial second-in-command of the Computer Club. Koushirou was also still her best computer buddy.

"Who knows why you keep having trouble," Miyako lifted up her head, "but I am here to help you, Miyako-kun. I also feel that this RPG that you are currently programming is pretty creative. I don't know of the details yet, but I'm sure that it'll be quite good."

"No way, this thing is lousy."

The Odaiba Junior High Computer Club President, Izumi Koushirou, was now a semi-tall 15 year old in his third, and final, year. His once short, red hair had grown out a bit, but he always managed to keep it nice and neat. He was well-respected by both faculty and students.

Ever since his first year, Koushirou has helped to run the club due to his extensive knowledge and became the President once entering his final year. Miyako, like Koushirou, helped to run the club and this year she became the unofficial second-in-command due to Koushirou's asking her. In this regard, Miyako was a bit shy as she felt odd having such a position as she was an underclassman.

Koushirou didn't know it, but Miyako and the other computer club members were planning on throwing him a surprise party since it was going to be his last year at Odaiba Junior High as their well-respected club president. They hadn't decided on a time or place as of yet, but it had to be before their finals and had to make sure it wouldn't interfere with Koushirou, and the other third-year students' high-school entrance exams. Miyako wasn't in charge of preparations; surprisingly, another girl was, one that Miyako truly didn't care for, and vice-versa for this particular girl towards her.

"I think it was very creative of you to use our Digimon as characters," Koushirou complimented in an attempt to cheer the younger girl up.

"Well, I really do miss Hawkmon and the others and it's bothersome that after all this time, we haven't had any contact with them…not even Gennai-san has been easy to contact, so I decided to use a Digimon theme to help remember them. I'm glad that you had all of that old Digimon information stored on your laptop, and those old digital photos that Hikari-chan had of some Digimon. I didn't think I could actually use those to create sprites," she explained, quite nervously. She was still a bit self-conscious over presenting her RPG to the club. 'I hope the other members won't think of this as stupid or too out there.

'It's strange how, like before, only we Chosen Children from all over the world remember what happened and our families.'

"The RPG maker programs are more advanced now, so that's the main reason why, Miyako-kun. You do know that you don't have to go all out with this. A typical, computer game will do."

"No, it has to be the best! I have to prove to everyone that I know about computer programs, and software, just like I do hardware! My reputation is on the line!" the lavender-haired girl said with determination, her right fist bawled. "I also must prove myself to that Meihui Chiu!"

"Oh yeah, Meihui-san. She's been here as long as I have. When she first attended this school, she'd moved here from China. She used to help out a lot, now that I think about it, before you started attending here."

"She keeps saying that I'll make a terrible second-in-command, even though I already had experience. I was president of the computer club at Odaiba Elementary after you graduated from there."

"I wouldn't worry too much about her. You know a lot more than she does, and I would know. I have worked with her before, mainly since she's so active in the club, but…she is really good at programming."

Miyako arched an eyebrow up at Koushirou. "You talk as if you don't know her, or you just met her. You said yourself she's been in your class since you started going to this school."

Koushirou could only shrug. "I guess she's okay, but we don't really seem to talk much, unless it's during one of our meetings, or during class. She's very nice and friendly, though."

"Nice and friendly my foot," Miyako scoffed under her breath while crossing her arms.

"She seems to really respect me, and actually calls me, 'Izumi-sama', and that's surprising to hear from someone that's the same age as you," he laughed. "She even gives me some tasty chocolates! I wonder what store she buys those from. I suppose I could speak with her more often than what I do, especially since she's nice enough to give me chocolates every year. No other girls really give me any. I would love to brush up on my Cantonese, especially after my incident in Hong Kong two years ago when I was there with Hikari-san. My Chinese speaking skills were horrid, and my English was even worse! I should ask her to teach me sometime, if it's okay with her. I could talk to her in class or maybe I’ll call her later. I have her number in my annual and I also have her email address."

Miyako, who had pretty much began to ignore the older boy since he was going on about the "annoying Meihui" (which is what she, herself, would call her), went back to her game, her face scrunched up in determination. 

"Ugh! I should have finished this by now but I just can't figure out why it isn't working the way it's supposed to. It seems that most of these glitches have the most trouble with sound bytes. In the beginning, the song ‘Target~Akai Shougeki~’ is supposed to play, but you can't hear it or any other music or sound effects for that matter."

Koushirou stared at the computer code on the screen. "I'm not as knowledgeable as you are when it comes to game code, but I think I see where your mistake is. You typed in a wrong command here, and in this spot here, you have an extra space." He looked over the other data that Miyako had input. "Hmm, as a matter of fact, Miyako-kun, it seems that quite a bit of these commands are wrong." The boy sighed in spite of himself. 'We're going to be here awhile…'

Miyako did as Koushirou instructed, as well as a couple of more suggestions, which ended up taking the two another hour or so. They were running the game for the fourth time, hoping that there were no errors this time. Miyako held her hands together tightly and held her breath.

After a few seconds, she heard the midi-like music. "Bingo! Bingo! Bingo! _Bing_ o! It works, it works! It took forever, but it finally works!" The girl was so happy that she gave Koushirou a big hug. "Thank you so much for your help!"

"Y-you're wel-welcome."

Miyako blushed slightly and let him go. "I'm sorry, I'm just really glad that this works."

"R-really, that's okay," Koushirou assured her, trying to rid himself of the butterflies that currently fluttered in his stomach. "I know what it's like to spend your time working on something and then finally figuring it out. It's an exhilarating feeling knowing that you managed to solve the problem."

"After all of this work, we should go over to my family's store, and grab ourselves something to eat. I'm starved. Who knows, maybe we can go down to the gym. I'm sure they won't mind one extra person. I just hope they're still there."

"I'm getting a bit hungry myself, but I wouldn't want to impose. They invited you, not me."

"I guess I should have mentioned that I was working with you, but I'm sure they still wouldn't mind, Izumi-senpai. You're their friend too!"

"No, that's okay. I'll just pick up something on the way home."

"No way! I'm going to call Ken-kun right now to see if he and the others are still there."

Before Koushirou could protest any further, the girl had sped-dialed Ken's number. 'It's pretty late; I would hate to disappoint him,' she then quickly added, 'and the others too…' After about a half a minute, she hanged up. "I guess he isn't around. I didn't even get his Wormmon voice mail."

"Maybe Ichijouji-kun left for the day, and just forgot to turn his phone back on."

"Wait, why don't we check-"

"Don't worry about it," Koushirou interrupted.

"Huh? What?"

Koushirou pointed to the computer's clock. It read, 17:53 (5:53). "Look at the time. They have to be gone by now. We had permission to stay back here in the lab, even though our club wasn't meeting today; I doubt they had permission to stay back in the gym. Makes me wonder if they had the permission at all since, usually, such activity is forbidden there."

Miyako frowned. "I guess you're right."

"I'm sure they'll have another get together soon. Maybe you should just organize one yourself to make up for missing this one."

"That's a great idea, Izumi-senpai!" she smiled. 'I just hope Ken-kun is actually around to attend it, or isn't too busy; same with Daisuke.'

"See, everything will be fine."

"Could you come along too?"

"I'm not sure. If I'm not busy with anything else, I will."

"Please? We'll have snacks and-"

"Okay, you've convinced me!"

"That's because food is involved," Miyako laughed.

"Whatever gave you that impression?" Miyako laughed again at the boy's mock innocence. "You know, maybe only you all should go, and invite Iori-kun along. I'm sure he'd enjoy hanging around with you all since you rarely see him much due to his still being in elementary school."

"That's true. Both Takeru-kun and I live in the same building as he does, and we still don't make much of an effort to hang around with him more. We're always busy. Come to think of it, I rarely see Takeru-kun anymore either outside of school."

"Seems that you all will have to work around your busy schedules, but it'll probably work out in the end. Now, would you mind if I played your game?"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, and as president of Odaiba Junior High's Computer Club, I must see if this passes my test, which I'm sure it will since you were the one who programmed it."

Miyako's face went slightly red from the compliment, and smiled at her older, redheaded companion. "S-sure, go ahead, but do you really think it'll pass your test?"

"I'm positive that it will. You're very good with computers, and you've been doing excellently with programming lately too."

"Thanks," she scratched her nose, "but I didn't even know there was a test."

"Well, actually, there isn't. I just wanted to play before everyone else."

Miyako blinked with a sweat drop, as she watched Koushirou position himself in front of the screen. When he was situated, she began to explain the game to him. "Anyway, since my time was limited, there are only four main characters. I based them on you, Mimi-oneesama, Iori, and me. The names of the characters I chose at random. They are: Miya, Kouji, Mi, and Cody."

"Mimi-san…" Koushirou looked up at the wall clock. "It should be close to five in the morning there. I wonder how her performance will go over."

"She's supposed to sing songs for her class or something, right?"

He nodded. "It took me a good while, but I finally managed to get the songs she requested karaokes of just right."

"Why didn't you just wait for me to help you?"

"I knew how busy you were with other things, so I just did it all on my own."

"But you filtered three songs! We usually work on things like that together."

"I know, but I really didn't mind."

"You still could've asked me to help," she muttered under her breath, slightly annoyed over Koushirou's eagerness to work alone.

"I wonder how she's doing. It's been a little over a year since her last visit to Japan."

"She's doing fine as far as I know. She does send us e-mail and messages a lot, but I would like to see her.”

"I suppose you're right. So, let's get back to this game of yours."

"Right. Now, you start off with Miya, and for her, either the theme ‘Crash de Bingo’ or the song, ‘Dancin' on the Sky’ will play. It'll vary; I forgot which I programmed it for.

"You're going to explore around, and end up in the Digital World. The background music theme during that should be ‘Butter-Fly’. After that, you should end up facing a Tyranomon who tries to attack you. It's not set up for you to fight him, and the AI takes over, so your only option will be to run and the Tyranomon will chase you. Suddenly, a Tentomon from out of nowhere will attack the Tyranomon. A boy, who is partnered with this Digimon, will appear and get Miya to safety."

"I'm going to assume that since you mentioned the boy has a Tentomon, that that's the character based on me."

"Bingo!"

"Prodigious!"

"Let's see, along with this boy and his Digimon, is a Digimon called Hawkmon. The bgm theme for that should play for the character based on you when they first meet and talk, is ‘Digital Scratch’. The character finds out that she is in a place called the 'Digital World' and that the Digimon named Hawkmon is her Digimon partner.

"Your character explains all of this to her, and also explains how there is an evil force taking over the Digital World, changing once good Digimon into bad ones, and that he was chosen to find three other children who were brought there to stop it. He also explains that Miya was one of the three he was in search of.

"From there, the two of you are going to look for the remaining two people to help fight against whatever's causing all of the problems. It should go by fast, though, and watch where you explore or you'll run into a Digimon enemy, meaning you'll have to fight them off in order to get them back to their normal selves again. You use both Tentomon and Hawkmon to battle until you find the other two.

"During the early battle sequences, your character and Tentomon's character, explains the game's mechanics. Also, the theme should be ‘Brave Heart’ during battles. I also decided to stick with the old Black Gear story."

Koushirou's eyes seemed to light up. "This sounds very interesting! Let's start this game up. It will be like all of us older kids' adventure in the Digital World, and I bet you used Devimon as the final boss since you decided to use the Black Gear story that I, and all the other older i, dealt with."

Miyako did a victory pose for the redhead. "Bingo! During his battle, the bgm theme to play should be ‘Dark Wing’ and the song I chose for the ending is ‘Keep On’. Oh, for this, the Digimon can only evolve to their adult (champion) levels, but you have to determine the key on making them evolve, though."

"Wow, I better get started then…"  
x x x x  
Walking down the empty school corridors was a girl in the typical dark green Odaiba Junior High fuku. She was petite in size, had long, shiny jet-black hair, rosy dimpled cheeks, and a very cute smile that most everyone loved. This popular, 15-year-old girl was none other than Meihui Chiu, who was planning on doing some work on a certain computer project.

'I wonder if Inoue is still here. I didn't see her leave.' A smirk came to the girl's light face, as another thought popped into mind. 'I bet she's still having trouble with that computer game of hers and is putting in overtime to make sure it's right for Monday. I was only helping her along with it all week without her knowledge.' She inwardly laughed. 'It's so easy to do. She shouldn't save all of her data on the computer she uses during our meetings on the school's network and hacking into her password protected data was so easy to do. She was just asking for trouble. She should've backed it up.

'Thinking about it, though, I probably didn't have to do much of anything. Honestly, what _are_ Digimon? I doubt anyone will take something like _that_ seriously, and I'm sure that our president will surely think she's crazy.' Her smile grew wider as she began to twirl down the hall. 'After she makes a fool of herself Monday, they'll all realize how incompetent she truly is, and how I deserve to be working by our president's side! I'll be second-in-command and then I'll get closer to,' hearts formed in her dark eyes, and gave off a dreamy sigh, 'Izumi-sama, just like how it was before that brat started attending this school!'

"Mei-chan!"

"Wait up, Meihui-chan!"

The girl's thoughts of Koushirou were broken, as she turned towards the two who had called her. "Hi there, *Jen-chan, *Joya-chan."

The girl named Joya, with the bright pink hair up in two pigtails which came down to her shoulders, pointed towards the wall clock. "I'm surprised you're still here. Did the computer club just let out? There was a meet this afternoon, right?"

"No, I just forgot something," she lied. After realizing what the girl had said, she narrowed her eyes at her. "What do you mean there was a computer club meeting today?"

"Jen-chan and I just saw Izumi-kun in the computer lab with Inoue-san hours ago when we were on our way to our Volleyball Club meeting. It ran late today. I figured that the two were early since they do practically run it. We passed by the computer lab a while ago and both were still there."

Jen nodded, her long aqua-green pony-tail swishing. "Maybe they're staying back since they are both running it, but thinking about it, I don't remember Mei-chan ever staying back this late helping out Izumi-kun before Inoue-san joined."

Trying her best to control her jealousy over Koushirou and Miyako's being alone, Meihui chose to ignore the latter of Jen's statement. "I guess it slipped my mind that we were having a meeting today," she stated casually, with extreme difficulty. 'I waited around this long for nothing? I just knew she'd be gone by now. I can't log my way in if she's using her student account.'

"It seems like it's over, though," Jen continued on, "no one else was there."

"Meihui-chan, if you weren't at the meeting, what have you been doing for the past couple of hours?"

The young girl knew that she couldn't tell them that she'd left, and had come back just recently. She wasn't even expecting to be seen, given the time, and was going to do her duty and leave without being spotted. "Oh, nothing much at all…just, hanging around and like I said, I forgot something," she timidly laughed. "Maybe I should go check up on those two," she twitched slightly and obliviously clenched her small fists together at her side.

"Mei-chan," Jen began, "you look upset."

"She's right, you do. You're our best friend; you can tell us what's wrong."

"I'm fine," she grumbled. "What makes you think that I'm mad or upset just because Inoue is working with Izumi-sama?"

"You sound jealous."

"I am not jealous, Jen-chan!" Meihui shouted at the top of her lungs. The girl blushed ferociously as her voice echoed throughout the empty hallway.

"He's known Inoue-san for a long time, which is probably why he hangs around with her a lot," Jen earnestly pointed out. "They don't have the same classes, since he's in a higher year than her, and both share the computer club, which is their main time to hang around with one another while in school.

"Anyway, Inoue-san is okay. She's a very nice girl to hang around with, and is a whiz at math. She's helped me plenty of times."

"I like her too." Joya looked down at her watch. "It's pretty late, we should get going. My older sister was going to come by today and pick us both up so that we wouldn't have to walk."

"Oh yeah, that's right. I forgot about that. You called her a while ago. She should be here by now. Hey, Mei-chan, want to come with us? We could go out and do something."

"No, that's okay," she politely declined, "I'll walk home since I have to finish up a couple of things here. I'm also still planning for the surprise party that the club is throwing for Izumi-sama."

"Well, if you're busy, I guess Jen-chan and I will get going."

'I could finish planning out that party, or maybe Izumi-sama will accompany me home, and then I'll invite him in and offer him tea and snacks, and then he'll accept it, and then he'll go on to tell me how much he loves me, and then we'll both lean in for a nice, long well-deserved, extremely passionate, deep, k-'

"Earth to Mei-chan," Jen waved her hand in front of her face, "are you there?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," she quickly answered, her face a bit flushed from the fantasy. "I was just, ugh, thinking about something."

"Whatever," Jen yawned. "Anyway, when walking by, we overheard Koushirou-kun talking and he mentioned something about you. He said he was going to ask you something."

"Oh, okay," she answered plainly. After what was said had sunk in, the girl's eyes lit up like stars as she shrieked out happily with a jump, "REALLY!" After the sudden outburst, she, with slight difficulty, regained her composure, acting in a mature, sophisticated manner. She felt rather foolish for jumping and shouting like some type of crazed fan girl when it came to a handsome celebrity.

"I wonder what he wants to discuss with me," she said while clearing her throat with an obviously phony, haughty cough. 'Maybe after all of this time, he's finally going to ask me out! I've been waiting for this day to happen for ages! Plenty of boys have given me confessions, but the boy I truly want to confess, hasn't…I just hope that this will be it!'

"Jen-chan, we better get going. You know how impatient my sister can get."

"Don't I know it!" the girl laughed. "Your sister is nice but one should never make her wait for you whenever she's the driver."

"We'll catch you later, Meihui-chan," Joya waved, as the two started off.

"See you, Mei-chan."

After they were a good distance away from Meihui, both of the girls began to discuss amongst themselves.

"She's never said it directly, but I think she likes Koushirou-kun," Jen briskly stated.

"I think she does too. She seems to get a bit annoyed whenever other girls approach or talk to him, despite how innocent it is."

"It's a bit interesting how Mei-chan isn't the only one who seems to want his attention. A couple of girls of our class do too. Whenever he walks by, they seem to show admiration towards him."

"Remember Valentine's Day? I think they gave him chocolate. Knowing him, he probably just thought they were a bunch of *tomo choco. I wonder how he handled *White Day, thinking about it now."

"He is the polite type and seems to be a bit traditional; I bet he ended up giving all who gave him chocolates, typical marshmallow candies or either white chocolate candies."

"But seems we would've heard something about it if he had."

"Is it just me, or is he just terribly unobservant where girls are concerned? He never seems to notice the girls who talk to him, or those who may do nice things for him."

"How could someone so inquisitive and observant be so unobservant when it comes to people?" Joya said while shaking her head in disbelief.

"Maybe in his mind, he just couldn't imagine any girl showing romantic interest in him."

"Out of all of the girls I've seen him associate with, seems he pays the most attention to Inoue-san along with the younger sister of the best soccer player in the history of Odaiba Junior High, Yagami Taichi-senpai. Her name is Yagami Hikari. She's a first year."

"That's only because Koushirou-kun is good friends with Yagami-senpai." the girl explained while the two changed out of their school shoes, after reaching their shoe-sized lockers. When done, they continued their walk. "Anyway, I don't think he talks with her as much as he does Inoue-san, probably because she's a first year. As for him always hanging around with Inoue-san, I just think the two are really good friends."

Both girls reached the big front doors of the school. "But what about her?" Joya questioned as she pushed open the double doors.

Jen could only shrug in response. "It doesn't seem like there's anything going on. An observer who didn't know them too well, would probably just assume that the two could be a possible couple, but then again, from the viewpoint of those who know them fairly well, would probably say they're just pretty good friends."

"I wonder if anyone has ever insinuated it."

"I doubt it; besides, don't you think that the few girls who are dropping hints that they're into him would stop pursuing him?"

"Well, some girls are a bit persistent. They could even be dating in secret for all we know."

"Oh of course not," Jen laughed. "Only you would come up with such a crazy idea."

"I can't help the way my imagination is," she replied timidly.

"You know," Jen began randomly, "I wonder why the gym doors were locked today for practice."

"Good question. It was pretty strange, and the light coming from underneath the door was even stranger. That's what Mari-chan said to me when she walked by there earlier."

"I wonder if anyone else was in the gym."

"Well, Kouhei-niisan mentioned to me before joining up with you for volleyball practice that he saw Motomiya-kun from the soccer club there. He also mentioned seeing Ichijouji-kun heading in that direction, but that doesn't mean anything."

"Where was your cousin headed off to?"  
"Band practice. The after school activities that are usually held in the gym hadn't even started yet because of the testing of the first years for some weird reason, since the gym was closed. They don't usually test them at this time of the year, but who knows what's going on with the head of our school district."

"So your cousin saw those two, eh? Oh well, guess it doesn't matter now. Too bad they didn't just send us home since the gym was closed."

"I guess we'll find out what happened Monday. One of the nosy students of our class has to know something," Jen laughed.

Right at that moment, the two heard a horn honk. They looked ahead, and parked on the street in front of the school was a girl very similar looking to Joya, only her hair was hanging down loosely to her shoulders, in a bright, yellow, Volkswagen Beetle."

"Ah, it's Ariana-neechan."

"I hope your sister hasn't been waiting long."

"Joya-chan, come on, I have stuff to do."

"Okay, okay, we're coming," Joya muttered irritably. With that, the young teens hopped into the car, and the young Ariana pulled off in a huff…  
x x x x  
'How dare she tries to take him away from me,' Meihui growled as she stormed down the hall. 'I'll crash her entire program, and then we'll see who'll be going around saying, 'bingo' when she presents it to the club!' Meihui's demeanor changed back to that of pure ecstasy as a certain redhead came to mind once again. 'Before I do that, I shall go see what my dear, sweet, Izumi-sama wants to ask me.'

With a giggle, she skipped merrily down the hallway towards the computer lab…  
x x x x  
Meanwhile, Koushirou had already started up the game, and the sound was working okay thus far. The game also had the choice of playing in Japanese or English. Koushirou chose English. As the game started, a character that resembled Miyako quite a bit was shown sitting in a bedroom on her bed reading. The character's name was, apparently, "Miya". As with any typical RPG type game, Koushirou started to explore the room, finding a couple of items; one of which being a Hawkmon card. He continued to investigate the girly, stuffed-animal filled room (the stuffed animals resembling their Digimon friends) until he felt he couldn't explore any further. He then led the character out and walked down some stairs located in front of it. When reaching the bottom step, a dark-haired man wearing an apron, along with glasses, walked over…

(Game Mode On)

Man: Miya, where are you going?

Miya: I'm going to the park, father. It is boring a lot here. I want to write a story for my friends, but ideas I don't have.

Man: The park good place to get ideas. Come home at dinner.

Miya: Bye father.

(Game Mode Off)

Before leaving, Miya received an item. A can of juice. "Hmm, I must find the park," Koushirou murmured in deep concentration.

He led the character out towards the front door of the home and began to walk down the street of her world. Koushirou ended up running into quite a few characters; most of the characters resembled their friends, and a couple of people they went to school with. One character Koushirou ran into resembled the girl that Miyako had a lot of hostility towards, Meihui. The girl by the name of, "Ai", was teasing Miya about not having her story finished. Another character he ran into seemed to resemble Ken a whole lot. Once Miya found the park, the AI took over…  
x x x x  
Outside in the hall, Meihui had finally made it to the computer lab. She was about to walk in, until she heard voices…  
x x x x  
"So far, so good, Miyako-kun," Koushirou complimented as he continued to play. "You even used a lot of kanji in here not typically used for these types of games, and that's pretty impressive for a beginner. You're already ready for your entrance exam and you still have another year to go here. People usually stick with plain old Hiragana or Katakana. As for the English, though a bit off with the dialect," he noticed the look of dread on Miyako's face, "but it's still understandable! Honest! It does make sense! I understand it fine, based on what Mimi-san has taught me! As for the Japanese, I'm sure it's perfect, so I won't bother playing it in Japanese."

"Thank you very much, Izumi-senpai," the girl timidly laughed, "but I didn't use English for everything. There are some words I just don't know any English for. I'm still learning it. I want to be completely prepared when I take my exam next year since English is normally on it."  
x x x x  
"'Thank you very much, Izumi-senpai, but I didn't use English for everything'," Meihui mocked irritably. 'She's such a showoff and why is she being so overly polite?! I've been trying to get his attention ever since I first attended this school. With that Inoue brat, he's very different with compared to other girls.' Fire formed in the girl's dark, majestic eyes, and she bawled her left fist. 'Inoue is my true rival! She's the only girl I know of who can get his full attention, which means I must defeat her and get rid of my competition, and what better way to do that than to make her look stupid!'

Meihui sighed dejectedly. 'That's going to be hard to do since she _is_ smart.'  
x x x x  
"That's okay; you're using it for the majority anyway. The only things you aren't using in English are the names of specific people or places." He gave her a a smile. "And don't worry about the English. I understand it, but it still isn't too great."

"But I thought only speaking it was difficult for you."

"Well, yeah, it is; listening, reading, and writing is okay," he told her while reading the text on the screen, "and as I pointed out earlier, I do actually understand this." He turned to face the girl standing behind him. "After we are done here would you like to get something to eat? We can go anyplace you would like for this job well done on this RPG of yours. I will even pay to show my appreciation."  
x x x x  
Meihui's jaw was on the floor, her eyes bugged out, and her ability to breathe seemed to just stop on her. After the brief shock, and regaining her skill of breathing, the girl's heart began to ache, and her anger and jealousy rose. 'How could he ask her such a thing! That's supposed to be me in there! She's just a stupid second-year student, Izumi-sama, what about me!'  
x x x x  
"Yeah, okay," Miyako agreed, her tone casual. She couldn't turn down a free meal. "It'll be better than going to the conbini (convenience store)."

"I noticed how down you looked when I was passing by, as-as I mentioned earlier and just felt the need to help you out. I'm sure my mother can go this one night without my eating her cooking." Koushirou decided to go back to the game, but mainly to keep himself from staring at Miyako. It was starting to make him feel a bit uncomfortable. "Miya picks up the strange, metal device by the bench. All of a sudden, the wind is blowing unusually hard and fast. She stands up and looks towards the sky. A bright light shines down on her…" Koushirou continued to read aloud.

After reading that last line, Miyako shivered a bit. The room was growing a bit breezy. "Hey, wait…what's going on!" The wind began to grow even stronger and more violent. "Where is that wind coming from?! All of the windows are closed."

Koushirou stood up abruptly, as his chair fell over in the process. The entire room started to shake, and the computer he was using, illuminated the room with a bright, blinding light.

"An earthquake?"

"This shouldn't be happening!" Miyako shouted.

"What's going on…look at the other computers!"

The other computers seemed to be acting in the same fashion as the one with the RPG Koushirou had been running. With all the commotion going on, Meihui pulled the sliding door back, and rushed inside.

Koushirou heard the door and looked back. "Meihui-san, what are you doing here?"

"Izumi-sama," she moved some of her long, black hair out of her face, "what's going on?"

Before he could answer, Miyako screamed. She was being sucked in towards the computer that Koushirou had been on. She tried her best to grab hold of anything nearby, but it showed to be useless. Koushirou hurried himself over and grabbed her hands. He tried his best to pull her away from the strange, powerful tunnel that was forming behind her.

"Hold on Miyako-kun!"

The girl cried out for help again.

Meihui could only look on in slight disgust. She was quite annoyed over the fact that Miyako had gone through so much just to get Koushirou's attention. 'Please help me, Izumi-senpai,' she rolled her eyes, 'please! What's with her asking for his help in such an extra polite way! I wouldn't be surprised if she managed to set this up. She _is_ smart,' she sneered in pure jealousy. "Izumi-sama, save yourself! I'm sure she'll be fine."

Koushirou gave the girl a sour look and continued to pull the currently slipping girl away from the strange, bluish-white vortex.

"Izumi-sama," her voice was now enchantingly sweet, which most found a very beautiful thing, "why don't you-"

"Either help or leave," Koushirou cantankerously cut across. "Miyako-kun is my friend, and I refuse to leave her behind!"

Meihui was taken aback by Koushirou's aggressive tone towards her, feeling her heart fall slightly. The redhead usually remained calm, cool, and collected. It was very rare to see him lose his patience towards anyone. The girl sighed as she tied her long hair back. The wind was starting to grow unbearable in the classroom as even she had to stubbornly admit that this wasn't normal. She shakily went up to the taller boy, and hesitantly held his waist. As she did this, she felt her face glow beet red and her ears sizzling. She'd never had the opportunity to be so close to the boy before.

"Thank you, Meihui-san," she heard him say in his usual, polite manner. Her legs nearly gave way as they seemed to turn to that of jelly, but she kept her composure and listened to the boy's instructions. "Pull!"

This went on for only a brief moment, as it didn't show to be victorious. It was much too overwhelming for the two, which resulted in all three being pulled into the strange vortex...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> Author's Notes  
> 
> 
> Note 1: Okay, just thought I'd make a note about all of the songs mentioned for this chapter like I did for the previous one. I promise that after this chapter, you won't have to suffer through these types of author's notes pertaining to music.
> 
> Target~Akai Shougeki~: This is the original Digimon Adventure 02 opening theme song by Wada Kouji.
> 
> Crash de Bingo: This is Miyako's image theme, which is performed by Natsuki Rio, who is Miyako's seiyuu.
> 
> Dancin' on the Sky: This is Miyako's background music theme. There are two versions of it; the first version is a bit faster than the second.
> 
> Butter-Fly: This is the original Digimon Adventure opening, which was performed by Wada Kouji.
> 
> Digital Scratch: This is Koushirou's background music theme from Adventure. For the record, aside from Takeru and Hikari, the Adventure kids didn't get a new bgm theme for 02. Anyway, like all of the kids, there are two versions. The first version is a bit slower and seemed to be used most whenever Koushirou was giving off information. Seems the second version was used whenever he was doing something on the computer, or maybe when they were in a pinch. One time that pops into mind, was when he was hacking into that hospital data base in Adventure to find the right medication for Hikari.
> 
> Brave Heart: This is the first evolution theme, which is used for regular evolution sequences. It is performed by Ayumi Miyazaki.
> 
> Dark Wing: This song by Shiozawa Kaneto is Devimon's theme. Shiozawa voiced Devimon. May Shiozawa's soul rest in peace, as he was a very well-renowned voice actor, I feel. He did many voiceovers during the years. He died in May of 2000. If I recall correctly, he died from heart failure at the age of 54.
> 
> Keep On: This song is performed by Maeda Ai (she was still going by this when releasing that single). This is the second Digimon Adventure ending, and it included both Hikari and Tailmon (Angewomon) in the sequence.  
> x x x  
> Note 2: Jen and Joya. Okay, these names I used for these two characters are actually from a Pokemon fic I'd written at the time called “Shadow Island”. It was written a year or so before this one and was a sequel to a fic I'd written about Satoshi (Ash) receiving his Earth Badge since, in 1999, I didn't get to see the episode since the show was dropped in my area early.  
> x x x  
> Note 3: In Japan, for Valentine's, the girls give the guys chocolates. The type of chocolate given can vary, depending on the actual guy. Let's say two people (guy and girl) are really good friends, and nothing more. In other words, the relationship is purely platonic. The girl may more than likely give him "tomo choco", also known as "friendship chocolate" since he is just a friend. In the office, a lady may give "giri choco", also known as "obligation chocolate", to her male coworkers. Tomo choco and giri choco are usually store-bought.
> 
> The other type of chocolate is "honmei choco", and that's the type that's usually given to one's love-interest or "sweetheart" or "crush". The difference, is that this type is usually homemade.  
> x x x  
> Note 4: White Day is the mirror of Valentine's Day in Japan, which falls on March 14. On this day, the guys give marshmallow candy or white chocolate to the girls who gave them chocolates on Valentine's Day, hence the name "White Day". Of course, other gifts can be given, but the marshmallow and white chocolate is what the holiday is most known for and what seems to be most associated with it. One year, I even received salami as a White Day gift because the person knew how much I seemed to like it. lol


	4. Relaxing Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crest bearers of hope and light are enjoying a late afternoon, early evening dinner, but will it last?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad you all are back. I hope you enjoy this part. Nothing much I can truly say regarding, it though.
> 
> Now, as always, I do not own anything dealing with this series. Toei and Bandai have that honor.

Chapter 04: 「ヒカリちゃんは大輔くんが苦労です...」  
"Hikari-chan wa Daisuke-kun ga kurou desu..."  
"Hikari's predicament with Daisuke..." Takeru and Hikari's Relaxing Dinner!

It was a nice, sunny day in Odaiba, and both Takeru and Hikari were taking full advantage of what remained left of that autumn day. Both were currently at a new restaurant; an outside pizza parlour. The two were celebrating their latest victory…getting through all of their exams.

"I thought we were going to never finish with all of that testing," Hikari exclaimed happily.

Takeru, who was holding two drinks, sat down at the table, which had a big umbrella overhead. "I'm glad too. Junior high is a lot tougher than I realized, but we don't usually get exams at this time of the year either, do we?"

"No, we don't. Oniichan was going on about how weird it was for us to be having them."

"I hope Iori-kun spends his last couple of years in elementary school wisely." The boy set the drinks down. He had a cola, while Hikari had lemonade. "I hope they hurry with that pizza. It's supposed to be a traditional style from America, or something like that."

"What kind did we get again?"

"Shikago Diipu Dishu Sutairu (Chicago Deep Dish Style)," he answered slowly while he looked over the menu.

"I was actually in the mood for *okonomiyaki (お好み焼き), but that's not something you can prepare here and I prefer Osaka style anyway."

"You always suggest going to okonomiyaki shops whenever trying to decide on a place to eat."

"Well, okonomiyaki is really good," she said with a smile.

"Well, unlike okonomiyaki, this is going to cook a bit longer. It's pretty big too. I ordered a large and asked for 'extra cheese', too. We should have a lot left over. That type is supposed to be extra filling."

"Oh, thanks for the drink. Junk food is something we definitely need after all that testing we just finished up with, but you don't think we're over doing it, do you?"

Takeru sipped his soda. "What do you mean? Overdoing what?"

"There are probably enough fat calories in that pizza to turn someone really slim, like your brother, into a sumo!"

"No way," Takeru heartily laughed. "I hardly ever eat a lot of junk food; mom won't let me." He gave her a grin. "I bet if this was okonomiyaki or cake, you wouldn't be complaining." Hikari couldn't help but blush slightly as it was true. "It's time to live a little, and we don't have too much to worry about."

"We don't?"

"Daisuke-kun eats a lot, and he'll probably eat the most of it!"

Both Takaishi Takeru and Yagami Hikari were 13 years old, and in their first year at Odaiba Junior High. Just like when he was in Odaiba Elementary school, and his last year at Kawada Elementary before transferring, Takeru was a skilled basketball player. The boy had also grown a bit taller, as well as a bit more handsome. He was almost as big as his older brother, Yamato; the heartthrob of Odaiba High. How his brother could ever manage to get into a relationship, and keep one, was beyond him. Girls seemed to always tag after him. Even in elementary school, Yamato always had a problem with girls trying to pursue him; Takeru was having this particular problem now amongst his schoolmates, even though he never really seemed to notice them much. He did have female friends he'd occasionally hang out with, though.

Hikari was a member of her school's photography club. She really enjoyed it. The shoulder-lengthened haired girl was still kind and polite, and was still cute, small, and petite. Something else that hadn't changed about her was her sixth sense ability, despite it not being as strong as it once was.

"You know, I wonder why Daisuke-kun isn't here yet," Hikari mentioned randomly. "He promised that he would come with us. I hope nothing's wrong. I'm actually starting to worry about him." The girl heaved out a long, sad sigh as she thought of her once cheery friend. 'He just hasn't been himself lately. Normally when I ask him to join me for something, he's the first to run by my side.' She looked to her right, the chair empty. She slightly frowned, as she just wasn't used of Daisuke's not being around. 'He hasn't talked to me much lately, either. I'm actually starting to miss his attention.'

"Ichijouji-kun was supposed to have been here by now, too. We all studied hard thanks to his idea of having a study group. I'm sure that's the reason we probably did okay on our exams. He said that he was coming after he spoke with the soccer coach about something."

"What about Daisuke-kun?"

"He said earlier today at lunch that he had to get in some practice today when reminding him, and that he'd meet up with us later. He also told me that if he's late, to just go on and order without him."

"Practice? Practice what? There's no afternoon soccer club meet today."

"I'm not sure; he didn't say."

"I just really hope he gets here soon." Hikari, to Takeru, seemed a bit uneasy over the goggle-boy's not being there. He wondered why. "I just have this feeling that something's wrong."

"You're worrying too much over nothing." He gave her his signature smile. "You know how he is when he gets wrapped up in something."

"I guess so," she slowly replied. She wasn't very content with his answer. Hikari still wasn't convinced that Daisuke was all right, but she didn't feel like burdening Takeru with how she felt on the matter, and decided to get off of the subject. "I think it's really nice that Ichijouji-kun goes to school with us now."

"Definitely! I couldn't imagine going to that old school of his. It seems perfect for a person like Jou-san, though."

"To be honest, I really feel that he switched schools to be with us...and Miyako-san."

"Why do you say that? Why did you single out Miyako-san?"

"I really feel that he really...um...likes her company."

"Sounds like there's more to that, but maybe you're right. He started to warm up to everyone, unless you mean you think he likes her in…that way." She nodded to him and sipped some more of her lemonade. "I'm not so sure about that. Those two don't even talk to each other much anymore, unless it's by phone or e-mail. She's usually busy with Koushirou-san doing computer club stuff or helping out my brother with his band and Ichijouji-kun is usually busy with soccer. It's surprising that those two can talk at all outside of school functions. I'm a bit surprised that he didn't join the computer club."

"I'm surprised too, thinking about it now. I always thought he liked computers."

"Maybe he didn't join because of soccer. The soccer club here trains very hard, and their coach works both him and Daisuke-kun and the rest of the members hard. I bet he makes them practice so much because they're some of the best players in the area since Taichi-san was a student. Too bad Sora-san didn't continue playing soccer, but she became very serious with tennis."

"I think oniichan tried to get her to play soccer, but she'd lost interest and stuck with tennis, but she did help him practice plays."

"I guess that makes sense, but still surprising about what you were insinuating about Ichijouji-kun."

"Well, if Ichijijouji-kun didn't like Miyako-san in the beginning, I feel that it's obvious that he does now. He seems to always talk or ask about her. I've noticed him doing that a lot lately; besides, she was the first girl to believe in him after he finally came to his senses, and stopped being the Digimon Kaiser."

"Actually, that was Mimi-san..."

"Aww, Takeru-kun, you know what I mean."

He laughed.

"You know something else I've noticed lately?"

"What?"

"Oniichan."

"What about him?"

"He's been a bit moody lately, and I can't figure out why. Oniichan has never been like this before."

"I-it's probably nothing," Takeru answered quickly. "It's probably a guy thing."

"You and your, 'it's a guy thing'. I'm sure I'd understand if he explained it to me." The girl frowned as she played with the straw of her drink. "I hate it when he gets like this and snaps at me for no reason. He's been like this for a little over a week now."

"Maybe he's stressed out from soccer. High school is probably a lot tougher than junior high, since they train harder there," the blonde said, hoping Hikari would drop the subject. 'I feel really bad for Taichi-san right now. I just wish I would've never told him about it, but it's not like I knew I wasn't supposed to.

'He goes around acting like the happiest person alive, especially when he's out on the field. He's just wearing a mask to hide how hurt and down he really is, and I'm not supposed to even mention it to anyone.'

"I doubt it. He's had tough captains over the years, and he's never acted like this before! He usually welcomes the challenge."

"Maybe you shouldn't bother him about it."

"Takeru-kun," she gave the blonde a suspicious look, "you almost sound like you know more than you're telling. Do you know something about oniichan that I don't?"

"Me? _Know_ something?" He nervously laughed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You _do_ know something about my brother! I can tell by that uneasy look you get and that nervous laugh you usually give off whenever you're trying to hide something! You're also pulling on the collar of your shirt!" Takeru looked down, and realized that he was, indeed, tugging the collar of his uniform shirt, and stopped. "You may be an excellent basketball player, Takaishi Takeru, but you're a terrible liar!"

"Well, I, um..."

"Come on, please tell me what's wrong."

"Okay, okay, you're right,” he conceded. "I know what's going on with Taichi-san, but I'm not supposed to discuss it with anyone."

"Why, because my brother said so?"

"No, because _my_ brother said so."

"Yamato-san? What does he have to do with my brother?"

"A lot," Takeru muttered.

"I don't really understand, but you can still tell me," Hikari told him sweetly. "I promise that I won't share the information with your brother or mine. I just want to help oniichan. He's always taken care of me, now it's my turn."

"I'm sorry, but I can't betray my brother's trust again."

"Again?"

"I already messed up when I told Taichi-san." Hikari stared at the boy perplexingly. Takeru noticed the girl's inquisitive look, and continued. "I didn't know at the time that I wasn't supposed to have shared this with him, but I brought it up in conversation with him one day.

"Later on that day, when I went to visit my father for the weekend, my brother told me not to tell anyone about what was going on. He also mentioned that he, as well as the third person involved, wasn't ready for everyone to know yet and I can't let that person know that I know either."

'What's with all of these secrets?'

"I felt awful after he told me this, but I never revealed that I told your brother what he told me not to tell. I did promise him, though, that I wouldn't tell either. After that, I told Taichi-san about what happened and how he wasn't supposed to have known. The secret that I revealed to him is probably bothering him a little, which is causing him to be a bit moody. I think he wants my brother, and the other person involved, to just tell him this secret directly and feels bad because he heard it through a third-party. I really think he feels betrayed right now," Takeru finished up. He'd said all that he'd wanted to, but wouldn't allow himself to go any further. It was difficult enough to say what he had without giving too much away. He also didn't want to make his brother look bad.

'Taichi-san is feeling betrayed by both of his friends right now; one he's always trusted, and another he's always confided in. I hate keeping this from Hikari-chan, since she probably could try helping him to cope with this, even if in reality she probably couldn't, but a promise is a promise. I didn't see his face when giving this information to Taichi-san, but the way he sounded after I did...his entire demeanor seemed to just change…'

"Oniichan feels betrayed?"

"Yeah, probably, but I really shouldn't get into that either. I promised my brother I wouldn't. It's just a bond that we brothers have. I'm sure you'd understand it better if you and Taichi-san were brothers."

"This just isn't fair! I want to know what's going on with oniichan!"

"As obvious as he seems to be lately, according to you, I'm sure he'll let it slip out. I doubt he can keep it in for too much longer. Besides, it's something that you really can't fully help him with."

Hikari stopped trying to pursue the matter and went quiet, her mind wandering once again.

"Hikari-chan, what's wrong?" asked Takeru, breaking the silence. "If it's about the secret, I already explained that I ca-"

"N-no, it's not that," she interrupted vaguely. "I was just thinking about Tailmon, and wondering how she and the other Digimon are doing."

Takeru stared up at the bright, clear-blue sky and nodded. "I really do miss Patamon."

"I miss them too, but right now...I'm a bit worried."

"I wish there was some way we could go see them all again. It's hard to believe that it's been almost two years since we've seen them last. No random gates have opened up or anything since that final one back then. I wonder what they've been up t-wait, what do you mean you're worried?"

"I have this feeling that we're going to see them all again pretty soon, only now I feel that it's going to be because of something bad."

"What happened to your optimism?"

"I'm not sure." She stared down at the table, a forlorn look upon her face. "I've had this feeling for a long while now, but today, it seems to be intensified and right now, it's stronger than ever. I really can't explain it. I've been trying to brush it off for the past week or so now, but right at this moment, it's...it's just overwhelming. I also feel that if we do see our Digimon friends again, that we're going to be different in some way."

"Different?" She nodded. "Different how?"

"I'm not too sure; I don't even know how, I just know that we will be if we see them again."

"Well, we are older now. Maybe that's it."

"No, no…I don't think so. It could be…I don't know," she sighed.

Takeru could only stare at the girl curiously. "I'm really starting to wonder about you."

"What do you mean?"

"When we left our Digimon the first time, you just knew we'd end up seeing them again, and we did. Random gates opened and we were able to spend a lot of time with them during our adventure two years ago.

"If I'm remembering right, the first time we had to leave our Digimon, you weren't crying or anything. You didn't even look sad. You just seemed to feel bad for Mimi-san, since Palmon couldn't face having to say goodbye to her."

"That's because I sensed that we would see them again, so I didn't have any reason to be sad and I didn't have any reason to cry."

"You have to be the most mysterious person I've ever met! You are always sensing things and not being able to explain them."

"I don't know why I'm like this," Hikari answered, her head hanging.

"Don't worry about it, and what's with that apologetic tone? That's just what makes you special, and that's something I really like about you..."

"I guess..." she murmured depressingly.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm sure everything is fine in the Digital World. No gate has opened to allow us back to help them, so everything must be okay on their end."

She gave him a halfhearted smile. "There you go again, always being hopeful. No wonder you have the crest attribute of hope."

Right at that moment, their huge pizza was brought to their table along with the check. Takeru was ready to eat, but Hikari refused.

"Takeru-kun, you know we can't eat without the others; it would be rude."

"I say we make an exception! We'll just leave them some."

She shook her head. "I refuse to; besides, I'm still a bit worried about Daisuke-kun."

"I've never seen you this worried over anyone, aside from Taichi-san, before. If you want, we can wait for both Ichijouji-kun and Daisuke-kun."

"I'm just getting a weird feeling about him, and Ichijouji-kun. I really do hope those two are okay."

'That sixth sense of hers is working in overdrive. I'm surprised she could concentrate enough to take her tests today. The fact that she's been feeling this way for so long and how she kept it to herself had to have been tough for her.' Takeru got an idea. "I could call to see if those two are still around."

"I would really appreciate that."

"I'm pretty sure Ichijouji-kun has his mobile with him."

The once feared Digimon Kaiser, Ichijouji Ken, attended school with Hikari and the others now. He still had his "pretty boy" looks, and was much taller now. He was a bit taller than Takeru, but slightly shorter than Yamato, Taichi, and Jou (who still towered everyone). No one knew exactly why in his final year of elementary, Ken transferred from the prestigious Tamachi Elementary to Odaiba Elementary. *It was said that Tamachi Elementary was one of the best schools of the area, and how it was an honor to attend such a school.

It wasn't quite like a private school, but with the expectations and standards, one could've mistaken it for one, though. His switching from a school like that, to a "typical public school", boggled the minds of many, especially given the distance between Tamachi and Odaiba. Ken had to wake up very early just to get to school on time. Rumors circulated, some saying that the time when he was "missing", had something to do with it, or either he had somehow lost his noteworthy intelligence that he was most known for, or either he couldn't take the pressure of the school, and had no desire to go to Tamachi Junior High or Tamachi Senior High. Hikari pretty much figured that he enjoyed their company, and just wanted to be with them. For whatever the reason, Ken was genuinely happy now; something he hadn't been for many years up to that point.

Ken, who was also a first-year student, and age 13, was one of the best players of Odaiba Junior High's Soccer Club. The only other person, who could even rival his extreme talent and skill, was Daisuke, who made just as many saves, great plays, and goals as he did. Out of the other members of the Soccer Club, their captain worked both Ken and Daisuke the hardest by allowing them to do early practice drills more. How Ken had the energy for this, given his commute time, was beyond his friends.

He was still smart, just not as smart as he was with the Dark Spore's powers while he was the Digimon Kaiser. He had other things on his mind anyway, like friends for one. Either way, Ken still made satisfactory to above average marks all on his very own.

Takeru went through his list, and chose "Ichijouji". The phone rang for a moment, when a voice on the other end finally answered.

"Moshi-moshi..." the owner of the voice routinely, and cautiously, answered.

"It's me, Takeru."

"Oh, Takeru-san. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong; just wondering if you and Daisuke-kun were on the way here. Hikari-chan is growing concerned over you two."

"Sorry, I'm still at school. I was looking for Miyako-san. I was going to ask if she wanted to join us, but no one's seen her around; Koushirou-san either. I figured that she'd be with him someplace and could invite him too, but no one's seen either of them."

"Did you try the computer labs? How about the library?"

"I checked the library and most of the computer labs. I haven't gotten around to checking the one in the West Wing since it's so far out of my way. I was thinking about checking there next."

"Other than your hunt for Miyako-san and Koushirou-san, what else is going on?"

"Oh, I just got out of a meeting with my captain. I noticed the time, and was about to head on over to join you, but I'm not sure what's wrong with Motomiya. I saw him heading towards the gym when I was on my way to speak with my soccer club captain. I figured he would've just gone ahead. I'm standing in front of the gym now, and it sounds like he's still in there."

"He's still there?"

"Yeah, but I have no idea why. I guess he lost track of the time."

"I just got an idea; why don't we just bring the food there to celebrate?"

"I guess that's okay, and if we need to heat anything, or get ice for drinks, we could just sneak to the kitchen the Cooking Club uses. I'll go tell Daisuke about it right now!"

"You do know that you guys owe me, right?"

"I know, I know. We were going to split the bill three-way since Hikari-san, somehow, managed to get out of paying," Ken said with a sweat drop. "You pay for the entire meal, and both Motomiya and I pay you back whenever we meet up."

"Okay then. We'll leave here in a bit. It shouldn't take us too long to get there."

"Alright, bye."  
x x x x  
Ken hanged up his phone, and stared at the closed, gym doors. 'What is wrong with Motomiya? He'd never purposely keep Hikari-san waiting.' The boy slipped his phone back into his green uniform jacket pocket. 'I guess I should go in and talk to him now...'  
x x x x  
"Well?" Hikari questioned eagerly.

"Change of plans," he put his phone away, "I'm paying, and we're taking everything back to school."

"Huh? Back to school?"

"Ichijouji-kun had a conference, like I mentioned earlier, and just finished up. He said that before he went to that, he saw Daisuke-kun heading towards the gym."

"Why would he go there?"

"Who knows," Takeru answered plainly. "He's been acting strange lately, anyway. He really hasn't been his usual, overly-confident, cheery self." After he made his statement, he noticed Hikari's look growing somber once again. He inwardly smacked himself, as he'd meant to think it, not echo the girl's worries from earlier. "Hikari-chan?" She remained quiet for a short moment, and looked up at Takeru. To the boy of hope, she looked like she could've started crying at any moment. "Hikari-chan, what's wrong?"

"Do you think that he...hates me?" the girl asked in a voice barely above that of a whisper. As much as she didn't want to talk about it, she realized that she couldn't keep it in any longer.

"Hate you?"

She nodded slowly as she stared down at her lap, her eyes stinging due to her trying her best to hold back tears. "I-I think he hates me."

"You're the last person he would hate!" he assured her confidently. 'Daisuke-kun has a big crush on her; how could she possibly think that he hates her? Hikari-chan is a wonderful person...'

"Well, it's like he's been ignoring me lately, and I just sense coldness from him."

"He's been cold and ignoring everyone. It's not just you, but me too, and even Ichijouji-kun. Something is bothering him that he doesn't want to talk to us about."

"Well I intend on finding out!" Hikari said with determination. At the moment, the girl reminded him of Taichi. The Yagami look of determination between the two siblings was uncanny. "I hate to see him upset, or any of my good friends sad."

"That's the spirit. I'm sure he's just having a problem with his parents, or maybe he's annoyed that he's in his sister's shadow, as surprising as that sounds. She always made decent grades, even if she did spend most of her time chasing after my brother. As far as Daisuke-kun is concerned, he feels that she's the favorite between the both of them."

"How do you know?"

"Well, it's just an observation. I do hang out at his place a lot. He's also pretty much said as much whenever he complains about his sister, even though you know he wouldn't want anything bad to happen to her. He never directly says it, but that's the impression I get. Jun-san was pretty good in school, so maybe his parents are expecting too much out of him, sort of like the situation with Ichijouji-kun used to be."

"Oh yeah, that's right. Miyako-san told us about that, and how his parents were seeing him as his older brother, especially after his death. Ichijouji-kun seems to really trust Miyako-san to share something so personal with her."

"I'm almost positive that's the problem, but, seems he would've gotten over it by now..."

"Takeru-kun," Hikari rose from her seat, "what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

"Okay, okay." Takeru paid for the pizza and carried the box. 

The two, with their book-bags in hand, made their way back towards school. Takeru took in a big breath of fresh air. "It's so nice out here. It's supposed to be sunny and clear all weekend. We should all do something tomorrow afternoon after the tennis match Sora-san is having and before my brother's concert."

"That's not a bad idea, but," she looked up towards the now darkening sky, "I think you're wrong about the weather."

He looked over at her. "Eh? What do you mean?"

She pointed upwards. "Look at how cloudy it's getting."

"What the..."

"I guess the weather report was wrong. It looks like a storm is coming. We should hurry and find shelter before it starts raining."

The wind began to pick up. Other people were also starting to take notice as the odd looking storm clouds began to form into some type of a long, spinning funnel.

"Takeru-kun, I have a bad feeling about this."

"Whoa, that looks like a tornado!" a bystander pointed out.

"We don't get tornadoes here!" another person panicked.

Takeru began to get the same worried feeling that Hikari had. This just didn't seem natural somehow. "They're right; we don't usually get tornadoes here."

The wind level began to rise more as everyone tried their bests to take cover to avoid the unexpected, oncoming storm. The funnel grew more violent and powerful. It then made its move. It didn't go towards any of the buildings or people around, instead...

"Takeru-kun," she held her uniform skirt down with a bit of difficulty with her barely free hand, "that thing is coming towards us!"

"RUN!"

Hikari, who had been carrying drinks, dropped them, and ran alongside Takeru, who had tossed the pizza box aside. Before getting too far, a bright light seemed to flash, blinding them in the process. It was as if lightening had struck right in front of them.

Takeru shielded his eyes. "Hikari-chan, are you okay?" 

Before the girl could respond, she turned to face the funnel. She seemed to be drawn to it, and appeared to be in a trance-like manner.

"HIKARI-CHAN!"

Before he knew it, Hikari was sucked into the funnel, and her book-bag fell from her hand, which seemed to wake her up, as she began to call for help. Takeru stared wide-eyed at the sight. He wasn't sure what to do. 

After Hikari had been taken completely in, the vortex came towards him, but instead of running, he stood his ground. He took off his signature off-white hat (which he'd put on after school let out), and tossed it aside along with his book-bag. He knew that this wasn't normal, nor did he care where he would end up.

"I can't let her down! I have to save her!" Takeru said with determination. "Hikari-chan, I'm coming! Just hang on!"

The tornado engulfed the young teen. The cyclone disappeared and the sky cleared up soon after, leaving behind people staring on in shock, trying to figure out what had just happened...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> Author's Notes  
> 
> 
> Note 1: Okonomiyaki is pretty much a "Japanese pancake" mixed with a pizza…I guess. I honestly don't know how to describe it. There are different styles based on the region you're in. A couple of well-known styles are Osakan style and Hiroshima style. I like both. For more information on okonomiyaki, you can look it up online at places like wikipedia.  
> x x x  
> Note 2: The stuff about Tamachi Elementary being a prestigious school, and such, was pretty much made up as I'm not sure. Here in Japan, school uniforms are mandatory for all junior and senior high schools. Elementary schools usually don't have uniforms, unless it's a private school. This is generally the case, but there are some exceptions and there are some public elementary schools that use them, but rare. So, I'm going to still assume that it's a high-ranking public school since I'm pretty sure Ken's school was supposed to have been a public school.
> 
>  
> 
> Fic Chapter Changes  
> 
> 
> I included that Tamachi and Odaiba aren't particularly close. It's doable, though. He can get to one of the main stations in Odaiba in about 30 minutes or so and the Rainbow Bridge (which connects mainland Tokyo to Odaiba) is about 15 or 20 minutes away on foot from Tamachi station, but who knows what route he'd have to take to get to the actual school after the train ride or after crossing the bridge. Also, there is a Tamachi elementary school in Japan, but not where Ken's character lives.
> 
> Most of the okonomiyaki conversation was dropped as it was definitely unnecessary.
> 
> Originally I had that in her first year, Sora still played soccer but switched over to tennis in her second year. Usually, once you choose a club in junior high, you stick with it for the duration that you're there. Besides, in the Original Story drama, which took place between 1999 and 2001 (Sora's took place in 2000), it was referenced how serious she was about tennis and how her mother was helping her.
> 
> I cut out some of the more forced shipping stuff and made it a bit more subtle.
> 
> Changed up some of the dialogue pertaining to Takeru going on about the secret he's keeping for his brother and Taichi. It felt like clunky exposition…sort of. Actually, it still feels this way, only not as bad as it was originally, imo.


	5. Predicament

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisuke is feeling down, but why? What can Ken do to help his friend?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again, everyone. I hope you're enjoying the story still, despite its length. Anywho, I know you're wondering what's happening to the kids after being abducted. I promise you that you'll find out soon enough. Digimon Adventure and 02 have too many Chosen Children (Digidestined) to deal with. I have to have them all abducted first, which is why I'm pretty much writing these abductions in pairs or more, so as to get through it faster. From this point, the only ones left will be Jou, Taichi, Yamato, Sora, and Iori. Four more chapters and then we’ll get into the reason why they are being “abducted” .
> 
> Now, as always, I do not own anything dealing with the Digimon game, anime, manga, toys, etc., Toei and Bandai have that pleasure.

Chapter 05: 「おれの変な苦労がある!」  
"Ore no hen na kurou ga aru!"  
"My peculiar predicament!" Ichijouji Lends an Ear!

In the currently empty gym of Odaiba Junior High, in his gym clothes, was the maroon-haired Motomiya Daisuke. He was shooting baskets from the free-throw line, unfortunately, missing every single one of them.

"Darn Takeru," the boy muttered irritably, "I have to beat him!"

Daisuke, just like Hikari, Ken, and Takeru, was 13, and in his second year of junior high school. He was a bit taller, but not as tall as Ken or Takeru. His hair was still pretty much spiky, and he still wore the signature goggles that his mentor, Taichi, had given him. The boy excelled at soccer, and even his test scores were better now thanks to his very best friend, Ken.

He dribbled the ball, and shot another basket, but missed once again. He groaned petulantly, as he retrieved the ball to try again. Ken noticed Daisuke head into the gym earlier, but didn't think anything of it. When returning, he peaked through the door, surprised to see that he was still in there. He had just finished speaking with Takeru, who mentioned that he and Hikari were on their way to school with their victory meal, and to pass the information along to Daisuke.

"I wonder what's wrong with Motomiya. He's been in the gym for a while now.

"I should probably go check up on him, but I'll call Miyako-san first. I should have done that instead of wasting all of this time looking around the school for her."

Ken pulled out his mobile phone, and sped-dialed Miyako, hoping that the girl actually had her phone out, as it was against school rules to use them on school grounds.  
x x x x  
"Hmm, I think this just may work," Miyako murmured while typing in some commands.

"Hey, Miyako-kun, I think your phone's ringing. It doesn't sound like mine. I don't think I turned it back on yet."

"So it is," the girl replied distractedly.

"Aren't you going to answer it?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I want to work more on this."

"We can go back to it later," Koushirou wisely input. "Go on and answer. It could be important."

"Yeah, I guess. Now where did I put that thing..." She followed the sound and soon noticed that it was right beside her. Earlier, she had it out looking for an old message. She knew that her voice-mail would pick up, so she answered without checking. "Moshi-moshi."

"Hi there, Miyako-san," the light voice on the other end responded.

"Ken-kun," Miyako responded excitedly, "how are you?! I haven't talked to you in a while since I've been so busy."

"I definitely understand. My soccer captain kept me back for a conference to go over some new plays he wants to present to the team. I just finished up there a while ago."

"That guy is going to burn you and the rest of the club out."

"It's no problem," he casually replied. He then grew quiet. His mind had blanked out completely on what he had originally called her for. 'Why why _why_?! _Why_ does Miyako-san cause me to lose my train of thought like this sometimes?'

"Ken-kun?"

"I-I'm sorry," the boy nervously apologized, as he finally remembered why he called. "So, I was just wondering...that is...if you would like to join me for a bite to eat."

"E-e-excuse me?!" Koushirou noticed the look of surprise, yet happiness, on his younger friend's face. He raised his eyebrow in curiosity.

"W-well, T-Takeru-san, Hikari-san, Motomiya, and I are going to eat at that new outdoor pizza parlour.” Ken’s stomach tied itself into various tiny knots. He held it with his free hand, to help ease the inexplicable strange sensation. He never understood why even attempting to speak to the lavender-haired girl was such a challenge for him now-a-days.

"I would love to go-"

"You would!?"

"-but I can't," Miyako finished with a whine. "I have to finish up this stupid program by tonight, at least, and I keep running into glitch after glitch; problem after problem! I still can't seem to figure out why I keep having so many. Each day, the problem is either different, or an existing one just ends up worse!"

"Oh, I understand," he replied dejectedly.

"I really _am_ sorry."

Ken smacked his forehead. "Oh wait! I just remembered something," he laughed timidly. "I meant to ask you if you would like to join us down here in the gym."

"The gym?"

"Yeah; since Motomiya is running late, they decided to bring all of the food that they bought, here. They ordered the biggest pizza they sold."

"That does sound inviting, but I really have to finish this, Ken-kun. I'm really, truly sorry."

The line went silent. She wondered if her service had dropped the call. "I could drop by later. Hopefully, you all will still be there."

"Yeah, hopefully," he said with forced enthusiasm, which a currently distracted. Miyako didn't even notice.

"It's strange how Daisuke is late, especially if Hikari-chan is involved. Did Daisuke have to meet with the coach before you or something?"

"No, he went straight to the gym."

"That's even stranger, but then again, he’s been acting a bit off lately I've noticed. We were talking about how weird Daisuke's been towards everyone a while back."

"Yeah; well, I should let you get back to work." His flip-flopping stomach had finally settled. "Maybe we can get together another time. I'll talk to you later."

"Sure, and tonight, I don't have to help out at my family's store. I can talk to you then."

"Okay."

"I'll call you later then."

"Right, Miyako-san. Talk to you later."  
x x x x  
Ken hanged up his phone, and frowned, not sure why he was so down for her not joining him and the others. 'She's always busy...'  
x x x x  
"Ichijouji-kun, eh? What's going on? Is everything okay?"

She put her phone into her pocket. “He wanted me to join him, Hikari-chan, Daisuke, and Takeru-kun for dinner. I told him I'll join them later," she explained.

"You could go now if you really want to," Koushirou halfheartedly offered.

"No way! I'm going to finish this computer game if it kills me!"

Koushirou couldn't help but smile at the girl. "You're very determined."

"Why in the world did I promise something like this," Miyako groaned in extreme exasperation. "This is my last day to work on this since I'll be too busy tomorrow!"  
x x x x  
Daisuke took another shot, and missed. "Damn it!" Ken heard him grumble.

He decided, at that moment, that Daisuke really needed him or some type of a friend. He really seemed a bit stressed over something, and that was pretty unusual for the boy who never seemed to let anything get to him, and always had a cheery disposition about him. He pulled the door open, and made his way across the slick floor. "Yo, Motomiya!"

Daisuke turned back to see the tall, handsome dark-haired boy make his way towards him. Once Ken reached him, Daisuke greeted him dully. "Oh, hi, Ken."

"So, what's happening?"

"Nothing," he answered quickly.

"Are you sure?"

"I said that I was fine!" he snapped at the taller boy.

"If you say so."

Daisuke gave off a disgruntled sigh. To Ken, he seemed even slightly bothered by his being there, a definite first. "Why are you here?"

"I came here to inform you that we're late."

"Late? What are we late for?"

"We're late for our early, extra-high caloric celebration with Takeru-san and Hikari-san. They just called wondering where we were."

"Yeah...dinner," the boy trailed off.

"Hikari-san was really worried about you," Ken told him slyly.

All Daisuke could say was, "Yeah, sure", and went back to dribbling the basketball he had. He really sounded like he just didn't care. This wasn't the optimistic Motomiya Daisuke that Ken knew; someone had replaced him with a clone with a dreary attitude.

Ken was a bit taken aback by his friend's apathy, and knew that something had to have been wrong for him to act in such a way, especially with his lack of concern over Hikari's being concerned over him. For as long as he'd known Daisuke, he'd always had a bit of a crush on her. Normally, something like that would've made Daisuke extremely happy, and would've jumped at the chance to join her.

"Okay, Motomiya," Ken began sternly as he snatched the dribbling ball from his friend, "spill it! This has gone on long enough, and it ends now!

"I know you like Hikari-san. Practically _every_ one does...even Hikari-san! I just told you that she was worried about you, and you're acting like it's no big deal! This isn't like you at all. I've noticed it, and so has Miyako-san and even Takeru-san. Thinking about it, it's almost like you have something against her."

Daisuke didn't say anything, and just stared at the boy with a frown. 

"Well?"

"I don't hate Hikari-chan," Daisuke uttered softly.

"I never said that you did. You just act as if you're holding some type of a grudge against her, and I don't understand why."

Daisuke snatched the ball back from Ken. "I don't have anything against her," he stated plainly. The boy turned his back to him, and went back to making free throw shots, still missing.

"Daisuke..."

"You don't know what it's like to like someone who doesn't feel the same way back," he replied suddenly, as he retrieved the ball.

"What?"

"I didn't mean to make it seem like I was holding a grudge against Hikari-chan," he stared at the basket, trying to concentrate again, "I just rather not be around her right now. I only did the study group thing because I knew it would be helpful, and my parents, for once in their lives, are proud of me because of my test scores, and aren't thinking of me as their *'stupid son'."

"I still don't understand why you don't want to be around Hikari-san."

"Because it's obvious that she doesn't like me the way I like her!"

Ken couldn't believe how unreasonable Daisuke was being over such - what he considered - a trivial problem. "That's all?"

"It's starting to hurt, Ken!" Ken was even more astounded. Daisuke sounded like he was about to cry. "Unless I was more like _him_ , I'd have a better chance with her!"

"What do you mean? Those two aren't together in that way. You can still try to win over her affections."

Daisuke stopped shooting baskets, and faced the boy, a look of jealousy and sadness on his usually bright, cheery face. "I lost her when _he_ moved here!"

"Well, um, weren't those two friends before you officially became friends with her?"

"You still don't get it! It really bothers me to see her with Takeru. She's always with him. It never really bothered me before, but it has been more and more lately.

"Before he moved here, she used to hang around with me, but now she hardly talks to me because she's with Takeru so much or either she hangs around me along with Takeru. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Takeru or anything like that. I just wish, I guess, that I was more like him so that Hikari-chan could notice me, and maybe not see me as 'just a friend'."

"Is that why you're in here shooting baskets? Are you trying to improve your game to challenge Takeru-san?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Even though Takeru is my friend, he's also my true rival."

"Daisuke, you’re not him. You have to realize that."

"Tell me something I don't already know," he indignantly scoffed. "If I was him, I'd be happier right now."

"Hikari-san, and any other girl for that matter, should like you for the way you are," he told him wisely. "You shouldn't have to change or be someone else, for anyone. If Hikari-san doesn't see that," he sadly lowered his voice a bit, "then maybe she isn't the right girl for you, especially if you feel you need to be more like Takeru-san to get her interested in you."

Daisuke seemed to frown even more; Ken got the feeling that he hadn't taken in a word he'd said.

"Well, um, you know, there are plenty of fish in the sea, so the saying goes."

Daisuke tossed the ball up and down in his hands. "I just need the right bait to hook that fish, and the only fish that I'm after, is Hikari-chan."

"You're one of the most well-known guys in school since you're such a good soccer player, and lots of girls admire you...erm...probably."

"Who cares," the boy retorted stubbornly "It's the girl I think I've fallen in love with, that I want attention from."

"Wha-? In love?" Ken scratched his head. Daisuke was worse off than even he imagined. 'So it seems that Hikari-san has broken his heart, as well as his spirit, and the reason he seems to be avoiding her compared to the rest of us, is because it's become too painful for him to face her. The bad thing is that she probably doesn't even realize that her unintentional rejection is the key to his bad mood. I'm sure he'll get over it, but he seems too far into it to get over it anytime soon. It's still surprising that Motomiya admitted that he's in love with her. I couldn't imagine being in love with anyone...yet.'

"I hate to make everyone worry," the boy tossed the ball aside towards the rack, but didn't land in it, not that he cared, "so I guess I'll go down there now."

"You don't have to; they're bringing the pizza and snacks to school." Daisuke obliviously grimaced at the thought of having to face Hikari once again, with Takeru by her side. "Look, I know how you feel, Daisuke, but you just can't disassociate yourself from Hikari-san just because you feel you've lost her to another guy. Those two are just really good friends."

Daisuke scoffed as he threw his arms up into the air in disbelief over the former Kaiser's words. "How could you know how I feel? You've never had a thing for a girl like I have. I think my crush on her has really turned into love! This is the only thing it can be."

"I know how you feel about the being ignored by someone you admire part, somewhat," Ken muttered quickly, without even realizing it.

"Wait, what'd you say?"

After realizing what he'd said, he felt it was best to change the subject, and fast, as even _he_ couldn't explain it. "H-how exactly did you and Hikari-san meet for you to like her as much as you do, and for as long as you have? You've never told me about it."

Daisuke's harsh expression slightly lifted and he started smiling as the memory came back to him fresh. He sat down on the gym's smooth floor. Ken did so as well; he figured that this was going to be a long story. After both were comfortable, Ken nodded to him, and Daisuke began the long tale of how both he and Hikari first met.

"*Well, let's see. I first met her directly when I was nine. We were paired up for some type of class assignment, and we both got along very well. We ended up talking about soccer, and I told her about how I was planning on trying out for our district's kids team. At the time, I was already in our school's soccer club. She said that she was going to go to the tryouts too, but that she was only going to watch. 

"That afternoon, I hurried to the soccer field for the tryouts. I practiced a lot since I wanted to show the coach that I was ready for anything that he threw at me. I wanted to play just as good as the great Yagami Taichi-senpai! I'd always heard a lot about him, and I'd seen him play. He was the best player I'd ever seen! He was in the soccer club with me, and he was always very nice to me. He was also the one who encouraged me to get my own set of goggles; the ones I wore before he gave me his."

To Ken, Daisuke's expression seemed to grow bothered. "Daisuke; is something wrong?"

He shook his head, and continued. "Before the tryouts started, and before the coach got there, these sixth-grade boys started to bully me just because they were older. They kept telling me that I was worthless, and that a runt like me didn't belong on their team."

Ken shook his head in disgust. "I will never understand bullies' motives. What happened next?"

A dreamy look formed on Daisuke's round, tan face now. He seemed to be at ease, and quite peaceful. "Hikari-chan came up and defended me. I was really surprised. She told them that I had just as much of a chance of making the team as they did. I got teased badly after that, but I was really happy because no one had ever stood up for me before."

"That was really nice of her."

He smiled and nodded in agreement. "After the tryouts, I ended up getting into a really bad fight with one of the bullies since I couldn't keep my big mouth shut. I lost big time. I couldn't compare with a 12 year old. Hikari-chan, and some other people, surrounded us as we fought. I don't remember what happened too much after that, but it was broken up by someone and when I woke up, I was in the nurse's room. Sitting in a chair beside my bed, was Hikari-chan. She told me that the bullies got into a lot of trouble for picking on me and were all disqualified from the team and future try-outs. When the nurse said it was okay for me to go, Hikari-chan ended up helping me since I was still a bit sore, and said that I did a great job at the tryouts. We walked home after that.

"Since we reached her place first, she asked if I wanted any drinks and snacks for a job well done at the tryouts."

"Even back then, Hikari-san was kind."

"Yeah, she was," he nodded again. "Her mother gave us some sweet cakes and juice. We talked while eating, and we found it funny how we'd never really talked to each other before. We've always had the same classes; even before that project we were assigned. After the snack, I thanked her mother and went home.

"After I got home, I couldn't get her off of my mind. I kept thinking about how she stood up for me, and how she was a good friend. Year in and year out, I started to admire her more and more. By the time I was 11, I had a crush on her and secretly hoped that she would become my girlfriend someday.

"Anyway, Hikari-chan also helped to build up my confidence back then when I tried out for the soccer team. I didn't think I'd do all that great, but she convinced me to continue on and try."

"What exactly did she say to build up your confidence?"

"During that walk, she told me that I was a good player, but then gave me a cute, playful smile, and added that I just wasn't as good as her older brother. She seemed to highly respect him. She convinced me to believe in myself, and to keep on trying, and I did just that.

"The funny thing about the whole situation was that I didn't realize that her family name was '八神 (Yagami)' and that her older brother was none other than Taichi-san! I mean, I knew it, I just didn't know they were related. He was the one who broke up the fight that day, but I didn't notice it since that kid ended up knocking me out after the punch to the stomach. After he got me to the nurse, he left along with Sora-san and other members of the soccer club, and when we got to the Yagami place, he wasn't there. I also asked her why she stood up for me, and she said something like, 'Oniichan would've done it.'"

Ken smiled. "It seems that you and Hikari-san were pretty good friends."

The soccer player's look grew dark, as the last part of his story came out. "Yeah, we were until one of the most terrible things happened! Takeru showed up! After that, things changed. The way Hikari-chan laughs with him is the way she used to laugh with me. It's terrible, this feeling. It's worse enough to be rejected by the girl you love, but it feels even worse when she ignores you as a friend."

"Wow, what a history you two have. Hikari-san was the first girl to treat you nicely. I guess something like that would have some sort of an impact."

"Ken, I don't know what to do," he sighed, his head drooped. "It's just that every time I see her, it hurts me because I just think of her with Takeru. I feel like I have to force myself to greet her whenever I see her, especially when she's with him."

"I just don't know what to say to something like that."

"Don't," the goggle-boy interrupted, "I know Takeru likes Hikari-chan too. Maybe he didn't in the beginning, but it's obvious that he does now."

Ken shuffled uneasily. He knew that this was true, but usually went out of his way to avoid mentioning something like that. He felt it was best to just stay out of it.

"You haven't noticed those love-struck looks he sometimes gives her?!" he asked in disbelief, his head perked up. "The way he's extra nice when around her? The annoyingly charming way he acts towards her? The way he always tries to comfort her whenever she does get upset? I can't compete with that!"

Ken remained silent. He had no idea what to say, or what advice he could offer the boy. He really didn't want to get on the subject of Takeru's possibly liking Hikari. It just made him feel extremely awkward, especially since he was a good friend to both of the boys. He wanted to remain neutral. "I still think you're over-reacting a little, but, like you said, I can't compare what I'm going through with what you're going through. The problem I have is nothing like yours."

"I didn't say anything like that."

"Wait...um, I...er..." the boy's face went red.

Daisuke stood up and gave his friend a crafty look. "What problems are you having? Girl problems?"

"Motomiya, it's nothing. Wh-what makes you s-say that?"

"Aha! You _are_ having girl problems! The heartthrob of Odaiba Junior High is having girl troubles! C'mon, who's the girl and what's the problem!"

Before Ken could think of a lie, he grew apprehensive. Something just didn't feel right to him. He then felt a blast of air come from someplace. "Did you feel something just now?"

Ken stood up; Daisuke crossed his arms and shook his head with a shifty grin. "Uh-uh, Ichijouji, don't try to change the subject now. I told you what was bothering me, even though it sorta just came out, so now it's your turn!"

"No, I'm serious. I thought I felt a blast of air just now, but it was...different somehow."

Right at that moment, the entire gym seemed to fill with a powerful wind that was coming from no place. Both boys looked quite perplexed at this. "Did someone leave a window open?" asked Daisuke, as he moved some of his now, messy hair from out of his face.

"No," Ken pushed some of his shoulder-lengthened hair back and looked up, "the windows are all closed."

"Then where is this wind coming from!?"

The next thing to grasp their attention was the hoop Daisuke had been shooting baskets in. The hoop began to glow, and a weird funnel was beginning to form from it. Both knew that this couldn't be good, and ran across the gym, towards the doors. When Ken entered the gym, he had left the doors open; they were now closed and locked.

"Since when do doors close and lock on their own!" Daisuke screamed in panic.

"That doesn't matter! We have to get out of here! That thing is coming towards u-ahhh!"

A bright light filled the room and blinded the two, causing them to shield their eyes.

"Th-that light! It's too bright! What's going on, Ken?!"

"I don't know; I can't see a thing! Where is it coming from?!"

Before either one of them could do remotely anything, both were sucked into the bright vortex...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> Author's Notes  
> 
> 
> Note 1: In the original episode where Daisuke introduced Ken to his family, his father did pretty much say that Daisuke was "stupid", but not in the sense that Daisuke has no ounce of sense what-so-ever, but more so referring to the boy's school work never being all that decent. When they found out about "the boy genius" being friends with Daisuke, his father said something along the lines of, "You can help my stupid son with his school work."  
> x x x  
> Note 2: This is more so a statement in reference to how Daisuke met the Yagami siblings. I know that isn't the way Taichi and Daisuke met, but the rest of it is true. Both were in the Odaiba Elementary Soccer Club and that's how they knew one another directly. I wouldn't be surprised if that's how Sora knew Daisuke as well. In episode 1 of 02, when Taichi mentioned that Daisuke was in the Digital World, Sora instantly knew that he was a part of the Odaiba Elementary Soccer Club. That makes me wonder if Koushirou knew him as well, since he too was, surprisingly, in the soccer club with Sora and Taichi, which is how those three knew each other prior to their adventure in 01. After being in the club with Taichi and Sora, he later switched to the Computer Club and became President of it in his final year.
> 
> Daisuke did end up remembering seeing Taichi fighting against Vamdemon and admired him then as well because of his bravery. That aside, I always hated when people would go on to say that Daisuke only liked Hikari because she was Taichi's younger sister. I honestly never got that impression and felt that he genuinely liked her and that his crush had just grown stronger as the years went by. I also got the impression that they somehow managed to get the same class every year, which wouldn't be too surprising since that seems to be the case with some schools. You end up with the same kids every year in your class.
> 
> Oh, and adding on, for the original, Daisuke's crush was very normal for a kid his age. Unlike "Davis", who feels like an entirely different character to me anyway. Daisuke never went around declaring that Hikari was his girl or any of that nonsense.


	6. Drama on the Tennis Court

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is all about our favorite athletes of the group. What could the drama be, and will Taichi discover Sora’s secret?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey again all. Here's the next chapter for you, and compared to the previous ones, this is pretty short. 
> 
> Now, as always, I do not own anything dealing with this series; Bandai and Toei have that honor.

Chapter 06: 「空の秘密な生活だ!」  
"Sora no himitsu na seikatsu da!"  
"Sora's secret life!" Taichi & Sora's Drama on the Tennis Court…

"Take that!" the 16-year-old Taichi cried as he hit a tennis ball back at his opponent.

"You think I would miss such an easy shot," the 16-year-old Sora laughed shortly, as she smacked the ball right back at the soccer player.

"I'm going to beat you if it kills me!" he breathed out hard as he just barely made the save.

"Aww, Taichi, I like having a partner to practice with," Sora teased as she gracefully returned the serve.

Taichi lunged after the tennis ball, but ended up missing.

"Point goes to Takenouchi," a stocky man announced from his shady chair on the sidelines. "The score is now 40-30; Takenouchi only needs one more good play to win this game."

"Sora, I won't let you win!"

"You know I will," she replied confidently. "I've beaten you two times already and it's still my serve!"

Both Taichi and Sora were in their first year at Odaiba High School. Taichi still played soccer, but would sometimes play tennis thanks to Sora's persuading him into it. She even talked him into unofficially joining their coed Tennis Club, with special permission. He was pretty much an average player, not a "genius", like he was at soccer. As for Sora, she excelled at tennis and had grown to like it a lot more than soccer and rarely played the sport anymore for fun. The last time she'd played it competitively was her last year of elementary school.

Taichi, who still had his signature big hair, had grown quite a bit over the years, but was still slightly shorter than Yamato. He was a bit more humble and not as fiery as he once was, as he would now look before he leaped, given his maturity. As for girls, the boy was a bit naïve when it came to them.

As for Sora, she had grown as well. She was still motherly towards her younger friends and had become quite graceful and feminine.

As of the moment, Taichi was helping Sora practice for an upcoming match she had the very next afternoon. Sora, as usual, elegantly served the ball, but Taichi managed to return the serve just barely. Sora then smacked the ball hard, and it went soaring past Taichi, who had missed it by millimeters, which gave her the winning point.

"Game goes to Takenouchi!"

"Yeah!" the teen cheered as she pumped her fist up into the air.

Both walked to the middle of the court. The boy put out his hand, out of breath. "Wow...good...game, So...ra. You've really...been practicing."

"Yep, I sure have," she nodded as she accepted the boy's hand. "I have to get ready for my upcoming match. This is the best practice I've had in a while."

Taichi gave her a playful grin. "You do know that you owe me, right?"

"I know, I know. You help me with my tennis and I practice soccer with you since you have some new plays in mind that you want to present to the team."

"You two, I have to head in," their coach informed them, making his way onto the court. "You two can keep practicing if you'd like, though."

"Yes, Yamamoto-sensei."

"You keep that up, and we'll get into the tournament for sure; especially you, Miss Takenouchi. Your skills are absolutely remarkable; your transcript from Odaiba Junior High was quite accurate. I'm just glad that I was able to witness it for myself. It's an honor to have you in our club this year, and it definitely shows that you practiced a lot over the summer holiday. As for you, Mr. Yagami, it's a shame you're not a part of the club. For a soccer genius, you're pretty good for a novice tennis player."

The two bowed and thanked him for his kind words.

"School let out a good while ago, and I do have some things to take care of. You can stay for about an hour longer before everything here is closed up."

"Yes sir."

"Keep on practicing, now, and we'll definitely get that victory tomorrow. I really wish some of the other members were as serious as you, Miss Takenouchi," the man called to them, as he walked off.

‘As a first-year I have to prove myself to the senior members! Tomorrow's match is my big chance!’

“That was pretty cool of him, but soccer is just more fun to me.”

"So, Taichi, are you up for another game?"

"Yeah, sure, even though you're the star player."

"No, I'm not and you know it.”

“Always the humble one,” he grinned.

The two took their positions and the game commenced. Taichi played a bit better this time, but Sora was still beating him effortlessly. "Your serve, Taichi, but do you have the time?"

Taichi looked up at the school's clock-tower, which faced him. "Looks like it's almost 17:30 (5:30)," he answered while dribbling the tennis ball with his racket. "Why do you want to know? We can still hang around for about another hour since Yamamoto-sensei gave us permission to, even though no sports clubs are meeting this week this late and school ended early today."

"Um, no reason," she answered hastily. "Go on, serve."

Taichi, deciding not to waste anymore time, tossed the ball into the air, and hit it fiercely, causing it to soar over the net. It was one of the best serves he'd ever made. He blinked in stupidity when he saw Sora swing and miss. He understood that it was a good serve, but it was odd that she'd missed it in general.

"I'm sorry," Sora apologized. "Let's try that again."

He nodded, and made another excellent serve, but Sora continuously missed every time he served anything, the final one being atrociously awful. "C'mon, Sora, I want a challenge! That last serve I made was terrible!"

"I'm sorry...I'm just a little pressed for time. I have to hurry and go."

"What happened to fiery Sora? Why are you in a hurry?"

"No reason," she answered, anxiously. "How about we quit for the day. I've practiced enough, and I am a bit tired."

"Yeah, sure." Taichi stared at the girl, curious as to how Sora had gone from an elite player to a mediocre one in just mere minutes.

The two headed to the sidelines, where their bags sat. Sora went through her bag and pulled out a water bottle, Taichi did the same. While Sora drank, she kept glancing up at the clock-tower.

"Since when did you become 'Miss Punctuality'?"

"You're silly."

"Then how come you seem to be obsessed with the time all of a sudden."

"W-well, it's just that I have to be someplace by 18:00 (6:00) and now I'm going to be late since I wanted to keep practicing."

After swallowing some water, Taichi stared up at the clock. It was just a little past 17:30 (5:30). "Where?"

"Why are you so concerned?" she snapped at him defensively.

"Sorry. I didn't know you were so private," he indignantly replied in slight annoyance. "You normally tell me everything."

"Well, it is a bit private, and one day, I hope to share this with you."

Taichi inwardly sighed, as he had an idea as to why she was so willing to rush off. 'I wonder when she's going to tell me about it. I already know about her secret dates that she runs off for every chance she gets. It's bothering me that she's keeping this from me...I just wish she'd confess it.'

"Taichi, what's wrong? You went quiet."

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering about something."

"What about?" She took another sip from her water bottle.

"Yamato."

Sora nearly choked, and gave off a small cough. "What about him?"

"He's been acting a bit differently lately. Haven't you noticed?" He gave the girl a knowing look. Sora grew a bit more apprehensive, mentally preparing herself for anything Taichi would throw at her. "He seems to run off a lot, even on days when he doesn't have practice with his band and he's obviously not busy with after-school clubs, since he's not in any since he has his group. Do you have any idea why?"

"I-I have no idea," she squeaked out uneasily.

"Okay," the boy muttered with a dejected sigh. "So, what are you doing this weekend?"

"Nothing too much." She regained some of her composure and didn't want to show that she was currently nervous around the boy she'd known for practically her entire life. "Just participating in that upcoming match, and then attending that concert at Tokyo Dome for the Teenage Wolves' concert that night." A dreamy smile appeared on her face, as she anticipated her tennis match. "I am so glad that we're going to play singles instead of doubles. There's nothing wrong with doubles, but it's hard to find the perfect partner, you know?"

"Yeah, I can understand that..." He heaved out an unintentional loud, gloomy sigh. "You think you find the right person, and you truly feel that you are the right person for the other person, but then you find out that you, apparently, aren't right for the other person, since the other person has already made her choice, even if she, herself, doesn't realize that the other person from the very beginning, could possibly be the right choice."

"Huh?" she blinked. 'What's with all that deep, philosophical talking?'

"Nothing, nothing. I was just rambling."

"Why did you ask anyway? You _are_ coming to my match, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't miss it! You were one of the ones chosen to represent our school to go against the representatives from that senior high school over in Asao, and you're only in your first year!” He gave her a big, hopeful grin. "After your match, since I know you're going to win, how about I take you out?"

"Wow, me and the entire club?" Sora exclaimed, surprised at the soccer player's offer. "That's really nice of you, but-"

"No, no. I was thinking along the lines of just you and me, not the entire club." He gave off a bashful laugh and rested his hand on the back of his head. "I'm not rich, you know. I can't treat all of them."

'I can't let him do that. I was planning on meeting up with him afterwards, right before that concert. I know that I should really tell Taichi and the others about this, but I'm still not ready to yet...'

"Sora?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Just had something on my mind." She stared down at the ground, and remained quiet for a brief moment. Sora finally looked up at Taichi; she felt that he of all people should know of her secret. "Taichi," she began slowly, "I have something to tell you. It's my real reason as to why I'm in such a hurry."

"What is it?" he asked anxiously. 'She's about to make me feel worse than I already do. She's probably going to finally come clean about her secretly dating. I still wonder, why is she keeping this secret anyway? We've been through so much more together than she has with him. I've known her longer, and we were even friends before we moved from Hikarigaoka (Heighton View Terrace). She's the only person I knew from there before that battle with Parrotmon and the giant Greymon. We have more of a history together than she does with him...but why did she choose him?'

"No, I-I think I'll wait. I probably shouldn't tell you yet. It wouldn't be fair to that person. We promised we'd share this together." She kneeled down, and picked up her gym bag, tossing it over her right shoulder. "Well, I better get going." She turned her back to Taichi, almost regrettably, and started to walk off. 'I'm already later than I wanted to be, and I won't have the time to change. I hope he doesn't mind.'

Not wanting to let the girl go without a confession, Taichi ran up to her and held her back. "Sora, wait!"

"Huh, wha?"

"Stop. I know what's going on with you, and I already know what your secret is." He let go of her arm, and stared down at the ground grudgingly. "Takeru told me, since he already knew. At the time, he didn't know that I wasn't supposed to know. He was coming over to get an assignment from Hikari, but she wasn't home because she was out with a friend from school. We started to talk a bit, and he randomly brought it up.

"He went home, but later on that day, he called me back to let me know that he messed up by telling me. He wasn't supposed to have told me what he had, so I promised him that I'd go along with this until someone confessed and to keep him from getting into trouble with the one you're keeping quiet about. I don't want Takeru to get any heat for betraying his trust."

"Wh-what?" Sora stated in disbelief. 'He told Takeru-kun?' It was growing dark and cloudy overhead, as well as windy. "I-I-I don't know what you're talking about," Sora stated quickly, trying to walk off again.

Taichi ran after Sora and stood in front of her, a look of deceit on his usually jolly face. "Sora, stop making a fool of me!"

She shook her head at him. "You know I would never do that!"

"I already know what's going on!"

Sora had finally taken notice of the dark clouds and the unusual high winds. "A storm is coming; we should go inside now."

"There you go again, trying to change the subject!" he stubbornly replied. He refused to leave until the matter was resolved. He had taken Sora's secret of her love-life, for the very last time. He really didn't understand why it bothered him so much. "I know that you're secretly dating-"

"No, Taichi, I'm serious! Look at the sky."

Taichi looked up, and saw all of the dark, murky clouds above. The wind had now grown so strong, that his normal up-in-the-air hair was actually blown back. "Oh, seems like you're right. I guess a storm _is_ coming. We can talk inside. Let's go."

All of a sudden, just like with Hikari and Takeru, a strange funnel began to form, and a big light flashed.

"This is no ordinary storm," Sora murmured as she shielded her eyes.

Before them, it seemed as if a tornado was forming right there on the tennis court, and there was lightening striking everywhere. One bolt seemed to strike far off into the distance near where Yamato's father worked; the Fuji TV Station.

More lightening bolts seemed to fly from the funnel; both stared on, completely mesmerized, until one of them unexpectedly struck Sora. Taichi stared on in alarm, as the girl screamed, dropping her bag to the ground. The funnel seemed to be drawn to her, like a magnet to metal, as it pulled her in. Before he could think of what to do next, the exact same thing happened to him. He saw Sora, and tried to reach out to her, but failed, as both ended up separated...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> Fic Chapter Changes  
> 
> 
> Originally, Taichi was a part-time member of the Tennis Club, but I decided to drop that as it's not at all very likely since sports clubs are very time-consuming so I doubt he'd have time, or permission, to do both soccer and tennis.
> 
> I added in Sora being more determined to win her upcoming match and having more of a reason to want to win.
> 
> I cut back on the drama surrounding Taichi.


End file.
